What's the best way to teach care and compassion?

What's the best way to teach care and compassion? Sheffield Hallam University has introduced augmented reality when teaching students clinical and non-technical skills.

Following the publication of the Francis report earlier this year, healthcare professionals across the service faced heightened scrutiny over their ability to show empathy and care to their patients.

While care and compassion has always been the philosophy that has underpinned our teaching curriculum here at Sheffield Hallam University, we have enhanced this by introducing augmented reality (AR) into our teaching.

AR introduces simulations by overlaying computer-generated images via a tablet computer, such as an iPad, on to a training manikin. The student holds the tablet up to the manikin from the bedside and will see a live display of the room they are in but the head and shoulders of the manikin will be overlaid with the video of an actor posing as a patient.

The age and sex of the patient is communicated via the video along with their clinical condition and it is down to the trainee to react appropriately to that patient's needs. The students are currently tested on patients with breathing difficulties, chest pains and other generic conditions, and we are continually adding to our range of scenarios as we progress with this piece of technology.

The purpose of this innovation is to enable students to see the real patient while rehearsing both clinical and non-technical skills on a human patient simulator.

We see the way in which students address their patients, interact with them and develop that all important nurse-patient relationship. In doing this, the essential skills of demonstrating care, compassion, empathy and dignity towards a patient can be realistically assessed, allowing us, as tutors, to give feedback on a student's performance and patient communication.

The response from our students has been extremely positive and we have noticed that having physical eye contact and interaction with a patient has a profound effect on how our students perform, compared to when they are using the manikin.

Health Education England and the recently established learning and education training boards (LETBs)have called for the patient to be put at the centre of healthcare education with the intention of enhancing the significance of patient dignity and respect.

The Willis commission (2012) also identified that real-life settings should lie at the heart of what they now call patient-centred education and nurse training. All of the nursing students at Sheffield Hallam University undertake practice on wards and in the community for 50% of their programme. This involves many hours with real patient clients. However, skills practice in simulated environments can enhance and refine these skills in a safe environment.

The technology is currently being used on our undergraduate courses. However, we are looking to implement this into our postgraduate curriculum and interpret it into several languages.

We currently have around 8,450 students in our health and wellbeing faculty and each one of these students has access to our state-of-the-art technology that we have invested heavily upon over the past decade.

Our other facilities include a simulated hospital ward, operating theatre and immersive visualisation suite, which uses 3D technology for teaching radiography, physiotherapy and oncology.

Our expertise has now attracted international demand, having delivered healthcare training to the Iraq ministry of health, as well as taking our augmented reality training across to our colleagues in San Francisco.

We are extremely proud of our nurse training curriculum and our interactive facilities go a long way in ensuring our graduates are fit for purpose as soon as they complete their training.

Jean Flanagan is assistant dean of nursing and midwifery at Sheffield Hallam University Guardian Professional.