New Toolkit Brings Disability-Inclusive Telehealth Training to Health Care Students Nationwide
As part of a simulation-enhanced interprofessional education (Sim-IPE) collaboration, the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing (FCN) at ÃÛÌÒTV has developed a comprehensive online toolkit designed to expand telehealth education for professionals who provide health care, in primary care settings, to individuals with disabilities and people experiencing health disparities related to social determinants of health (SDOH).
FCN’s Kreider Endowed Professor in Healthcare Simulation and Innovation Susan Kilroy, PhD, RN, CHSE, leads this partnership with Clinical Associate Professor Blasé Brown, DDS, and Research Associate Professor Beth Marks, PhD, RN, FAAN, both from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).
The shared recognition of a gap in the clinical education of health care professionals to care for people with disabilities spurred the IPE's development and, ultimately, the toolkit itself.
Dr. Kilroy
"Students often lack opportunities to care for individuals from underserved communities including those with disabilities and those disproportionately affected by SDOH in a primary care context," said Dr. Kilroy. "We want to equip students with the skills and confidence to provide this care themselves when they graduate, rather than referring patients elsewhere."
The toolkit is freely available to institutions nationwide, providing step-by-step guidance on planning, implementing and assessing simulations. The toolkit includes materials on budgeting, debriefing methods and measuring collaborative practice behaviors.
The Sim-IPE brings together nursing, dental, pharmacy and nutrition students to engage in simulated telehealth visits with simulated patients—trained actors—who have disabilities. These actors not only portray patients but also participate in a post-simulation debriefing, offering students valuable feedback from their perspective. A new addition to this year’s simulations are the FCN Master of Nursing Education students who are trained to facilitate the interprofessional simulations and lead the post sim debriefing sessions.
In addition to preparing future health care professionals for inclusive care, the project also creates meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities who serve as simulated patients. Villanova Nursing currently works with six such actors, with additional participants joining from UIC.
"The toolkit captures everything we've learned—how to recruit and train actors with disabilities, design meaningful simulations and foster interprofessional teamwork," said Dr. Kilroy. "We're making it freely available so other programs, especially smaller universities with limited resources, can bring this important training to their students."
Teams of three students from different professions complete two simulation experiences. The eight-week telehealth simulation series runs each fall and enrolls up to 90 students. The experience includes preparation through a collaborative practice survey and video modules on structurally competent health care for people with a disability, followed by live interprofessional telehealth sessions where students interview the patient, determine differential diagnosis and develop a care plan that is presented to the patient as a team.
"This initiative reflects our commitment to interprofessional collaboration, inclusive education and health equity," said Dr. Kilroy. "By sharing our model and resources, we're helping the next generation of health care professionals learn how to deliver high-quality, person-centered care to every patient."