Determining the use of simulation in teaching and learning among staff in Kenya Medical Training Campuses offering medical laboratory sciences

Abstract

Background: Medical education utilizes simulation, which is a strategy that enhances learning, teaching, and assessment as students get ready to practice clinically. Acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes by medical laboratory students before real-life practice on patients is important. MLS training deals with clinical care of patients, which has been reported to be inadequate by students even after graduation. More than 70% of the information a doctor requires to treat a patient comes from laboratory investigations. Well-trained students produce laboratory test results that are accurate, reliable, and timely for screening, diagnosis, and prognosis of diseases hence reducing medical errors to zero levels, ensuring safe patient care. The dynamic healthcare environment and the rapidly changing medical science field has made simulation teaching critical in training. Experiential Learning theory informed this study as it integrates conceptual and experimental learning and enables students to bridge the gap between theory and practice hence enabling them get ready to practice in real life. Objectives: The objectives were to: appraise the institutions’ ability to apply simulation laboratory sessions for their teaching and learning, determine the opportunities for innovative Simulation-Based Medical Teaching and Learning, establish the aspects that influence the ability of a teaching program to use simulation as a strategy of learning and teaching, and examine the troubles that teachers face when applying teaching and learning strategies that implement innovative simulation. Methods: Mixed-methods research design was used. Fifty-eight (58) respondents (principals and lecturers) recruited through census method. The study was done from 1st July 2022 to 30th Dec 2022. Data was collected using document analysis, interview schedules, checklists, questionnaires, and site visits. Data was integrated sequentially and a chi-square test was done to test the hypothesis while skewness and kurtosis were used to test for normality. Descriptive statistical analysis was done and expressed as the mean ± standard error of the mean, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Results: Majority of the lecturers, 39 (83.0%) indicated that they understood and defined simulated medical laboratory experiences both actual and anticipated. This was confirmed by a Chi-Square test result of 0.000 (p<0.05). Opportunity for allowing assessment of psychomotor and interpersonal skills was reported (80.9%) to be key. Educational validity of simulation experiences was reported 47(100%) to be very key in shaping the department’s decision to implement simulation-based teaching and learning. However, there was positive skewness (0.347) and kurtosis (0.681) on the critics of simulations use. 46(97.9%) of the respondents said that simulations are resource-intensive (administrative support, scheduling and space, specimens, and financing). 63.6% of the respondents reported that the facilities in the simulation laboratories were inadequate. Conclusion: It was concluded that Simulation for teaching and learning was used by the staff in this department and was well outlined in the teaching curriculum and course outlines. Student assessment of psychomotor and interpersonal skills was a significant educational opportunity for applying simulations. The educational validity of simulation experiences was considered a key factor as the department embraced simulation. However, full implementation was a challenge due to inadequate infrastructure and inadequate training of simulator instructor staff. Recommendations: KMTC management should recruit, train, use, and facilitate simulation instructors. Also, the government of Kenya to provide adequate quality infrastructure for simulation training across all Medical Laboratory Science departments of Kenya Medical Training campuses.