Improving learning in the healthcare field

Simulations are often used in nursing education. But how well do they prepare students to make decisions in real-world clinical situations?

Patrick Lavoie, a nursing sciences researcher at the Université de Montréal, conducted a study to observe how learning from simulations could be transferred to new situations in real-world practice.  A literature review revealed that few studies had analyzed this type of learning transfer.

In his study, Lavoie first presented nursing students with written scenarios online in which a patient was experiencing post-operative bleeding. The researcher asked participants to think aloud to explain the decision-making process behind their intervention. This reflection was recorded.

He then conducted interviews with experts from several health centers to understand their decision-making process in cases such as this. He noted that the main difference related to consideration of the practice context. The students described a somewhat idealized process that did not take into account certain constraints, such as the time needed to obtain test results. For the practicing healthcare professionals, on the other hand, much of the decision-making process revolved around negotiating specific constraints of their work environment.

This research helps to better identify contextual factors that should be included in training programs. Patrick Lavoie's team has also designed a comic book illustrating the influence of context on decision-making in the health care field. It is scheduled for publication in 2026.