Simulation-based learning in occupational therapy education:  How might SBL be used to ‘bridge’ the gap between theory and occupational therapy practice?

At the 2023 Annual Meeting of the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) in Oviedo, Spain, members of the SIMBA team had an opportunity to share some of the first results of the project. In a poster presentation, team members working in Work Package Two presented some of the work completed in the first phase of the project, which culminated in the preparation of first drafts of a Framework of professional occupational therapy competencies and Guidelines for the implementation of simulation-based learning in OT education. When finalized, these documents will serve as key resources for informing future activities on the project, including the development and implementation of an assessment tool, simulation scenarios and a teacher manual for implementation of simulation-based learning in the occupational therapy programmes of all partners.

The poster presented an overview of the process through which the first drafts of the Framework and Guidelines are being developed and validated, which began with a structured narrative literature review for collecting, synthesizing, and analysing information from 60 works examining professional competencies in occupational therapy (23 works) and simulation-based learning in occupational therapy education (37 works). This was followed by a consultation process through which the draft Framework and Guidelines will be validated and revised. Consultation was conducted via five stakeholder focus groups made up of OT educators, practitioners, and students from each partner country and one expert focus group. Stakeholder focus groups offered an opportunity to gain insight into experiences and perspectives of key participants from diverse contexts, while the expert focus group was a chance to receive valuable feedback on the draft documents from persons with expertise in using and researching simulation methodologies in OT education from around the world. Information collected during focus groups and through a post-hoc analysis of key literature examining simulation in other health professions will inform revisions to the Framework and Guidelines, thus ensuring that these documents will represent a valid, reliable, and representative resource for supporting the development and implementation of simulation-based learning in occupational therapy education in diverse contexts.

The poster received much interest from conference attendees and provided an opportunity for SIMBA team members to talk to OT educators and students about the project and their experiences and perspectives about the potential of simulation-based learning in occupational therapy education. Sharing this work and receiving input from colleagues from throughout Europe has certainly served to fuel the SIMBA fire for ongoing work and collaboration in the following phases of the project!