CovSim 2018: A workforce education simulation to develop practice-ready graduates

This case study provides an overview of a cross-faculty interprofessional simulation event to help in the development of practice-ready graduates. The case study is based on a simulated music festival, CovSim 2018, which was used as a context for a set of collaborative capability learning outcomes. A series of six individual but interlinked simulation stations were developed, with a linear major incident narrative to help contextualise the learning outcomes. These simulations were: 1) preparation and then 2) immersion into the music festival, 3) social media, 4) emergency department, 5) healthcare leadership, 6) public inquiry. These simulations comprised immersive simulation elements, using innovative technology but underpinned with existing, evidenced pedagogical tools and structures. This project was designed, in part, to evaluate the feasibility of interprofessional education collaboration with seemingly disparate learners, and to assess whether this type of event could affect cognitive change. The case study described here outlined the implementation process and presentation of a multi-phase research project and analysis.