Improving Geriatric Patient Satisfaction: Development of a High-Fidelity E-learning Simulation Course to Develop Intercultural Skills in Geriatric Patient Care Erasmus Project

Project Title

Improving Geriatric Patient Satisfaction: Development of a High-Fidelity E-learning Simulation Course to Develop Intercultural Skills in Geriatric Patient Care

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

Globally, the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to more than double by 2050. Diseases associated with ageing, such as dementia, are identified by the World Health Organization as being a major global health challenge that current and future healthcare providers must be prepared to meet. And due to the current culture mix, globalization and the degree of mobility in the world of work, it is likely that the elderly patients will be cared for by a geriatric nurse that does not share the same values, traditions and cultural background as the patient.

The current epidemic situation makes every higher education institution (HEI) acutely aware of the need to create blended/distance learning courses. It is vital that these are created in a way that optimizes learning and ensures the students’ further development of their skills and competences in the future. Simulation is a safe way to train healthcare providers to provide effective care for older people and their families and there is evidence that simulation-training can improve the quality of care provided for older people. However, although geriatric simulation programmes are being undertaken worldwide, hardly any touches on the issue of intercultural differences as a problem that professional geriatric nurses should be well conscious of. In this context, the objectives of GNurseSIM are to support HEI to provide students in geriatric nursing with opportunities during their training to practise skills of adopting a multidisciplinary holistic approach to the care of older patients. This will be achieved by combining elements from different approaches to arrive at a unified model and develop an intercultural, culture-sensitive geriatric nursing course, as well as recommendations and guidelines regarding the implementation of the course and possibilities it offers to other areas of nursing.

The project will be implemented by a consortium composed of 7 partners from 5 countries – Finland, Malta, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom – of which 6 are HEI – CENTRIA, MCAST, MDX, PWSZ, SAMK, UA – and 1 is an SME specialised in quality in education and knowledge transfer (KIC). Each HEI will contribute with:
– current existing methodological and theoretical frameworks that are used in simulation teaching as well as blended/distance learning and teaching grounded in social constructivist pedagogy;
– expertise in the field, deciding on the final model;
– piloting of the course to ensure national applicability.
KIC will serve as the consultative partner – providing specific expertise in creating e-learning platforms and quality and dissemination, as well as in knowledge transfer practices in the field of education & training, to aid successful project completion and assure exploitation and sustainability of its results.

Together, the partners will collaborate to:
– create a methodological framework that constitutes a model for creating social-constructivist, blended/distance courses for nursing students learning to care for the elderly with an emphasis on intercultural aspects, drawing on the expertise and experie nce of the partners;
– create blended/distance learning courses based on the model with content developed in simulation laboratories and implement them at partner universities in partner languages;
– pilot the courses, prepare case studies documenting the implementation of the courses, and develop a set of guidelines and recommendations that will be used to enhance the course;
– prepare a set of guidelines and recommendations that will aid the implementation of the model in other areas of nursing education.

Action research as a method to carry out the project activities, following an iterative process, based on an action-reflection-action cycle, to produce sustainable positive changes, as it is expected that the project will transform the way student nurses are being prepared to care for the elderly and cater for their needs. It will happen as every partner will have implemented a high quality blended/distance learning intercultural course in Geriatric Nursing prepared by the consortium. The course will be based on social constructivist assumptions which will be implemented through the simulation teaching technique. The content will emphasise possible intercultural issues in geriatric care and offer ways of dealing with them. Target groups are nursing teachers and nursing students. The first will use the course to provide the second with the skills and competences that make care for the elderly professional and socially acceptable. An added value of the project will be the possibility for the non-English native partners and other HEI across Europe and beyond to use the course to enhance their educational on-line offer in foreign languages for incoming students within the Erasmus+ mobility projects. The model developed will serve, in the long-term, as a point of reference to prepare other courses focusing on intercultural aspects of patient care.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 226411 Eur

Project Coordinator

PANSTWOWA WYZSZA SZKOLA ZAWODOWA W TARNOWIE & Country: PL

Project Partners

• KNOWLEDGE INNOVATION CENTRE (MALTA) LTD
• MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION
• SATAKUNNAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
• MALTA COLLEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• CENTRIA AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
• UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE