7 Facilitator role
As previously explained, this VGS aims to empower students in their learning process enabling them to apply their knowledge in a realistic, but safe scenario, bridging the gap between theory and practise, and making them responsible to solve the problems presented in the case. Therefore, the facilitator needs to embrace a guiding role, supporting learners in their experience and promoting students’ reflection about their practice, especially during the debriefing time. Nonetheless, the role of the facilitator is especially relevant in the period before the simulation is implemented with the students, during the process of designing and planning the activity (Walker & Montero, 2004), which includes the course integration of the VGS, the prebriefing, enactment, debriefing and evaluation.
If after reading the information of “Hello, you must be Flo” you consider using this VGS in your course, we recommend you consider the following steps in your preparation:
- Selecting the audience and assessing the needs and abilities of the participants. The intended audience are baccalaureate nursing students, or other healthcare related students, that have already learnt the contents covered during the VGS.
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Maximising the curricular uptake of the VGS. When choosing this VGS, it is important to ensure that the curriculum influences the choice of virtual simulation and not the other way around. VGS should not be an ‘add on’.
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Ensuring the VGS matches the learning outcomes of the course and it will enhance the learning in your course. We recommend reviewing the VGS objectives of “Hello, you must be Flo!” carefully and ensure they meet course-specific objectives and learners needs.
- Choosing the best modality in which the VGS will be played (Online – Offline; Facilitaded – Non facilitated; Individually – small groups – large groups).(If students are playing it on their own ensure they have access to someone who can provide technology support).
- Organizing the way in which the prebriefing and debriefing will be done (just the online activities provided in the simulation or complemented by some other activities online or in the classroom).
- Scheduling the different sessions in which the virtual simulation will be completed (all the same day – Prebriefing one day, the rest other day, etc).
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Deciding on the form of evaluation: formative or summative. Formative evaluation is the most common evaluation associated with VGS.
For this simulation, it is also recommended that the facilitator has profound knowledge of the subject matter covered by “Hello, you must be Flo!” so that he or she can respond appropriately to the learners’ questions. Moreover, it is highly recommended that the facilitator plays the VGS several times checking the consequences of all the available options before its application with the learners, so that he or she knows the different possibilities that the tool offers, the different outcomes of the decision points (DP), the contents and resources that it provides, etc. Finally, he or she will need facilitation skills.
Detailed information about the facilitator role in every phase of the simulation experience will be provided in the following sections of this guide.
More information about the facilitator role
There are many terms used to call the person in charge of implementing a VGS such as mentor, simulationist, facilitator, etc. In our case, we have decided to use the term facilitator because it best describes the role of this professional as someone responsible for facilitating the learning process by guiding the students in their experience with the virtual simulation, and is best known in the world of simulation (Verkuyl et al., 2022). Based on the definition provided by the INACSL Standards Committee (2021), the facilitator is the educator assuming the responsibility of the entire simulation experience.
As we have seen, the facilitator is especially relevant in the period before the simulation is implemented. Nonetheless, its role is also crucial during the development of the simulation, not as a lecturer who has to convey knowledge to the students, but as a catalyst of the participants learning through a process of reflection and discussion of the experience (Walker & Montero, 2004). Some authors, like Mayer (2013), have found that the quality of the facilitator is one of the elements with most influence over the students satisfaction with their experience in the virtual simulation. In order to take as much profit as possible from the learning experience Zigmont (2011a) states that the facilitator is responsible for going through all the stages of the experiential learning cycle, and especially, promoting the reflective observation and the abstract conceptualization.
Complementary resources
For more information about the facilitator role and functions during the application of the VGS, we highly recommend checking the following resources:
- INACSL Standards Committee, Persico, L., Belle, A., DiGregorio, H., Wilson-Keates, B., & Shelton, C. (2021, September). Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM Facilitation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 58, 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2021.08.010
- INACSL Standards Committee (2016, December). INACSL standards of best practice: SimulationSM Participant evaluation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 12(S), S26-S29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2016.09.009
- INACSL Standards Committee (2016, December). INACSL standards of best practice: Simulation SM Professional integrity. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 12(S), S30-S33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2016.09.010
- Verkuyl, M., Lapum, J. L., St-Amant, O., Hughes, M., & Romaniuk, D. (2021). Curricular uptake of virtual gaming simulation in nursing education. Nurse Education in Practice, 50, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.102967
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