Transforming speech-language pathology education: A neonatal care simulation

Comprehensive care of preterm and medically-complex infants is critical. There is a need for knowledgeable, skilled, confident neonatal professionals to provide this specialized, comprehensive care. The most challenging skills an infant must learn is to feed orally. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide specialized intervention to ensure safe and efficient transitions to oral feeding. However, due to the high-risk nature of medically-complex infants, few graduate programs offer hands-on opportunities to develop the requisite skills. Simulation is relatively new for SLP programs but offers opportunities for training with high-risk populations in a safe environment. This research contributes to evidence that simulation is effective in training SLPs to work with medically-complex infants.

Two cohorts of SLP graduate students (control, n = 28; experimental, n =25) participated in this mixed methods investigation of the influence of high-fidelity simulation on student knowledge and confidence managing medically-fragile infants. This study compared traditional, didactic classroom instruction with a written case study (control) to the same instruction with a high-fidelity simulation (experimental). Measures were created and validated by content experts and the case scenario was developed with experts from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Data was rigorously analyzed to assess change over time. Between and within group comparisons were made. Findings indicated no significant difference in knowledge between groups; all students made similar gains. The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater gains in confidence with hands-on skills. Results provide evidence for integrating simulation into the clinical curriculum for health professionals preparing to work with high-risk and/or low incidence populations.