BU Research Blog

Dr Michelle Heward and Dr Michele Board from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) attended the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) Fourteenth Annual Symposium ‘Healthcare Simulation: playing seriously’ on Wednesday 18th October 2017. During the day several presentations highlighted current research on simulation in healthcare education and its application in health and social care settings – from the use of virtual reality training for surgeons to the ‘simulance’ ambulance simulator by paramedics.

Dr Heward gave a presentation ‘using simulation in dementia education’ highlighting the ADRC’s current projects with Health Education England and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Both projects involve the evaluation of simulated learning in dementia education.

Health Education England  (HEE) has commissioned the ADRC to deliver a new ‘Train the Trainers’ enhanced education programme called ‘Dementia Education and Learning Through Simulation’  2 (DEALTS 2). This builds on previous work undertaken in 2013/14 by HEE to ensure healthcare professionals understand and can deliver key competencies according to the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework at TIER 2 (Skills for Health and Health Education England, 2015). The ADRC have now delivered 13 train the trainers sessions nationally across England and are currently evaluating the adoption, adaption, and impact of the programme on practice until June 2018.

The ADRC also had a stand at the event providing attendees with information about their current research themes: ageing and dementia-friendly environments; nutrition and wellbeing; and activity and social inclusion. For more information about the ADRC please email adrc@bournemouth.ac.uk