Welcome, medical students!

9 Feb 2022, 1:01 p.m.

In September 2021 we welcomed our first cohort of regular medical students to Great Ormond Street Hospital on a pilot scheme placement, which we are delighted has recently been confirmed will continue for at least the next four years!

Fifth year medical students from University College London now spend one week at Great Ormond Street Hospital as part of their six weeks of clinical placement in paediatrics.

Following an induction with our teaching fellows, students spend time in two different paediatric sub-specialities, and all participate in a half day of simulation and human factors training.

Medical students work in a team with a member of simulation faculty to manage an unwell patient

Medical students work in a team with a member of simulation faculty to manage an unwell patient

During their half day with the simulation team, students take part in our ‘Essential Paediatrics’ course. This course was purposefully designed to meet the learning needs of fifth year medical students. Working in pairs, students experience a real-time simulated paediatric emergency scenario as if they were an FY1 doctor on their first day in paediatrics. As well as technical skills, such as performing an A-E assessment, they practice working in a team with each other and a faculty member acting as nurse and can escalate their concerns with a simulated phone call.

“I loved it. Best hands on teaching I’ve received in medical school so far.”

Student evaluation form, Nov 2021

Kate Drewek, Simulation Fellow and lead for this course, comments “the students are all very comfortable at performing a thorough A-E assessment independently but have really embraced this opportunity to practice working in a team. Most of our debrief discussions focus on non-technical aspects of the scenario such as teamwork, communication skills and situational awareness.”

In addition to the simulated scenarios, students take part in a small group session on ‘Human Factors Engineering’. They discuss and reflect on the importance of non-technical skills in providing safe care and are introduced to the concept of a systems approach to safety. In free-text comments on their post-course evaluation forms, many said that they would now feel more confident to speak up if concerned, which Kate is counting as a big win for safety!

I feel I appreciate now the sources of error beyond the individual and to a more systemic scale, so will feel more empowered to report errors and consider solutions to the larger causative factors beyond just attributing blame to a single person

Student evaluation form, Nov 2021

We end every course by asking each student what they will take away from the session into their clinical practice and look forward to hearing their insightful reflections for many years to come!

If you have any questions about this course, or would like more information about our medical student sessions please get in touch at simulation@gosh.nhs.uk

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