Friday, September 22, 2023
9/22/2023
Project Summary/Abstract The goal of the project is to develop an innovative virtual reality (VR) curriculum to train students and novice clinicians in nursing, medicine, and allied health professions such as speech-language pathology (SLP) to provide team-based care of the airway and voice for cancer patients who have a tracheostomy or a laryngectomy. Three aims are addressed. Aim 1 is to finalize curriculum content and the VR modules, working from cases and VR objects created in our work to date. Aim 2 assess the content validity and user experience of the VR curriculum from the perspective of clinical experts and from learners. Aim 3 develops assessment rubrics to accompany the curriculum so that performance in the VR simulations can be evaluated. The overall approach is an iterative process initiated by the project personnel who will further develop preliminary content in three areas that ultimately become distinct VR modules: 1) foundational knowledge of anatomy, physiology and relevant medical supplies for airway and voicing care; 2) routine care of the airway and voicing in those with tracheostomy or laryngectomy; and 3) urgent/emergency care of the airway and voicing in these populations. The preliminary curriculum content is independently reviewed by a clinical advisory committee (CAC) leading to revisions by the study team. This process of CAC review, feedback and revision is repeated. The VR development team builds and refines the VR environments and scenarios as an alpha version of the VR curriculum comprised of three modules. The alpha versions are also evaluated in an iterative process by the clinical advisory committee for accuracy, fidelity, and completeness; and user feedback from learners is obtained regarding VR usability, technical issues, and potential negative user experiences. Additionally, learner assessment rubrics will be developed in Aim 3 to accompany the curriculum; these will be designed to evaluate interprofessional practice skills and clinical knowledge and abilities in managing the airway and voicing during the VR simulations. Development of the rubrics will include determining inter-observer agreement of clinical instructors observing learners completing the VR modules. Achieving the project aims will result in a VR curriculum comprised of the three VR modules, a curriculum manual, and rubrics for assessment of learners engaged in the simulations. This curriculum can then be assessed for learning outcomes on a broader scale in future projects focused on deploying the curriculum to students and novice clinicians in various settings such as graduate schools, residency training programs, and emergency medical technician programs. A better prepared healthcare workforce ultimately will be created to support airway and voicing needs of cancer patients with a tracheostomy or a laryngectomy resulting in improved health and quality of life outcomes.
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