Utilizing a telehealth digital clinic in a rural interprofessional simulation

Rural settings can create challenges in access to quality and cost-effective healthcare. The use of telehealth technology can decrease the barriers of time, distance, and access for rural residents (Rutledge et al., 2017). Quality of life for rural residents is enhanced by having providers skilled in the latest methodology in the provision of care to rural and frontier areas. A Midwestern land grant university utilized a telehealth digital clinic to enhance the knowledge and skills of both graduate and undergraduate nursing students in the use of telehealth technologies. Using the simulation-enhanced interprofessional education (Sim-IPE) standards with existing simulation experiences to include interactions with Nurse Practitioner (NP) student, undergraduate RN students, and standardized patients via the digital software clinic system. Using a simulated telehealth system, the NP student assumes the role of the healthcare provider at a distant site. The standardized patient and undergraduate RN students connected using the digital clinic software using SBAR format to give report, receive orders and discuss the patients' plan of care. The call ranged from 10-15 minutes and included the standardized patient when appropriate. The simulation experience demonstrated that using a telehealth digital clinic software, enhanced communication and interprofessional teamwork. Student evaluations were favorable in the areas of realism and ease of use. RN students appreciated the opportunity to “give report” to a provider, an experience they had not had in their education. Increasing students’ experiences with telehealth technology prepare students for future practices in rural and frontier areas.
Keywords: telehealth, rural healthcare, Sim-IPE