By: Rebekah Chance-Revels
Telehealth has become an integral part of ambulatory care, requiring clinicians to develop strong communication skills, decision-making skills without the benefit of in-person interactions, and team competencies. Furthermore, telehealth simulation can be an effective teaching tool to prepare healthcare professionals for this modality of care delivery. Through structured scenarios, clinicians can practice history taking, motivational interviewing, triage, assessment, care planning, SBAR communication, addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), and patient education. Additionally, telehealth simulation fosters teamwork by engaging learners in collaborative problem-solving and decision-making, essential components of interprofessional education (IPE). This blog post summarizes how a telehealth simulation approach addresses the clinical skills and teamwork competencies outlined by the Interprofessional Educational Collaborative (IPEC, 2023).
Structure of the Telehealth Simulation
Before engaging in the simulation, learners participate in a preparatory lecture on telehealth best practices, including:
- Effective telephone communication techniques (IPEC Competency Area Communication)
- Strategies for history taking, assessment, and triage over the phone (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Motivational interviewing principles (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) communication framework (IPEC Competency Area Communication)
- Ethical and legal considerations in telehealth (IPEC Competency Area Values and Ethics)
- Identifying and leveraging community resources (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Principles of teamwork in virtual healthcare settings (IPEC Competency Area Teams and Teamwork)
Learners additionally review skills such as SBAR and assessment, complete exercises on locating relevant community resources, and receive an SBAR fill-in-the-blank worksheet to reinforce structured communication. They also discuss the importance of collaboration and role delineation within telehealth teams.
Simulation Process
At the start of the simulation, learners attend a pre-briefing session that outlines expectations, roles, and objectives. Participants are divided into small interprofessional teams consisting of two learners, one patient (a standardized patient or faculty member), and one faculty observer/physician or advanced practice provider. Each group completes four telehealth scenarios, all conducted over the phone or web-based platform, simulating real-world remote patient interactions. Through these exercises, learners rely on team-based strategies for patient assessment, problem-solving, and decision-making in virtual care environments. Two of the scenarios are described below.
Scenario 1: Congestive Heart Failure
Situation: A patient with a history of congestive heart failure (CHF) calls due to worsening respiratory distress.
Challenge: The team must assess the severity, provide SBAR communication to a physician or advanced practice provider, and deliver a care plan. The patient resists immediate intervention, expressing a desire to delay care.
Key Skills Practiced:
- Triage of respiratory distress (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Delivering an SBAR report to the provider (IPEC Competency Area Communication)
- Motivational interviewing to encourage timely medical intervention (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Using collaborative decision-making to formulate the best course of action (IPEC Competency Area Teams and Teamwork)
Scenario 2: Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation and Social Determinants of Health
Situation: A parent calls about their child who has wheezing and a rash. The child has a history of asthma.
Challenge: The team must assess the child’s condition, communicate using SBAR, and address the parent’s concerns about lack of insurance, transportation issues, and unfamiliarity with local healthcare resources.
Key Skills Practiced:
- Recognizing and addressing SDOH (IPEC Competency Area Values and Ethics)
- Connecting patients with community resources (IPEC Competency Area Roles and Responsibilities)
- Providing clear, empathetic patient education (IPEC Competency Area Communication)
- Engaging as a team to manage complex patient needs (IPEC Competency Area Teams and Teamwork)
Post-Simulation Feedback and Debriefing
After each scenario, faculty and standardized patients provide real-time feedback on communication effectiveness, clinical decision-making, and ability to address patient concerns. Learners are evaluated using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (Lasater & Nielson, 2024). The simulation concludes with a faculty-led debriefing session, where learners reflect on:
- Successes and challenges during the scenarios
- Lessons learned about remote patient interactions
- Strategies for improving team coordination in telehealth settings
- The role of interprofessional collaboration in telehealth success
The Value of Telehealth Simulation in Interprofessional Education
Telehealth simulation not only strengthens individual clinical skills but also reinforces the principles of interprofessional education. By working in teams, learners develop competencies in shared decision-making, referrals, role clarity, and effective communication—essential skills for delivering high-quality virtual care. Research supports simulation-based learning as an effective strategy for improving telehealth competency. Rettinger et al. (2024) found that telehealth simulations improved nursing students’ confidence in remote assessment and communication skills, demonstrating the value of this educational approach.
As telehealth continues to expand globally, fostering teamwork and interprofessional collaboration through simulation will be essential in preparing healthcare professionals to provide patient-centered, equitable, and effective care in ambulatory settings.
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About the author:
Rebekah Chance-Revels, DNP, WHNP-BC, RN, MPH, Senior Clinical Instructor, Emory University
Thank you to our editor, Bethany Robertson (@bdrclo), for recruiting Rebekah Chance-Revels, for this article!
References
- Interprofessional Educational Collaborative (n.d.) IPEC core competencies. Retrieved February 5, 2025, from https://www.ipecollaborative.org/ipec-core-competencies
- Lasater, K., & Nielsen, A. (2024). The Lasater Clinical Judgment rubric: 17 years later. The Journal of Nursing Education, 63(3), 149–155. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20240108-05
- Rettinger, L., Putz, P., Aichinger, L., Javorszky, S. M., Widhalm, K., Ertelt-Bach, V., Huber, A., Sargis, S., Maul, L., Radinger, O., Werner, F., & Kuhn, S. (2024). Telehealth education in allied health care and nursing: Web-based cross-sectional survey of students’ perceived knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experience. JMIR Medical Education, 10(1), e51112. https://doi.org/10.2196/51112
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