At IHHC we are passionate about the work we do, and we recognize that our strength lies in our dedicated, trained and experienced staff. In our efforts to continuously improve our services and upgrade our knowledge base, we have set up a one-of-a- kind Simulation Lab at our Bangalore location. Simulation of real life emergencies. as well as dally care needs, give our staff the opportunity to learn. practice, and enhance their clinical skills. There are very few such centres available in the country.

IHHC’s training curriculum and other specialty practices build confidence, ensuring that our staff confidently and expertly deliver quality care at home. This results in:

• Unmatched quality in patient core
• Recognition as the experts in providing clinical care at home
• Up-skilling staff helps in hiring and retention
• By offering experiential learning to nurses and other healthcare professionals we prepare them for the real work place while also benefiting the rest of the health care ecosystem

What is a Simulation Laboratory?

This is a place, technique or device that attempts to create characteristics of the real world. Simulation allows the educator to control the learning environment through scheduling of practice, providing feedback, and minimizing or introducing environmental distractions. In a healthcare environment, simulation could refer to a device simulating a patient or part of a patient; such a device can respond to and interact with the actions of the trainee or learner.

During the period of the course, the nurses are able to think through scenarios that could potentially be life-threatening for the patient.

We have invested in a high-fidelity simulation mannequin from the US - a ‘patient’ known as the Laerdal Sim Man simulator - used for health care instruction and training situations, costing over several lakhs; and this state-of-the-art Simulation Lab is supported by a very experienced teaching faculty. This allows us to achieve excellence in home healthcare services by enabling our staff to:

• Improve performance
• Improve critical thinking
• Increase confidence
• Increase active learning
• Increase competence
• Increase critical analysis of performance
• Decrease stress involved in working in a home-based environment independently

The curriculum is designed under the close guidance and supervision of Bayada University, the training and development wing of Bayada Home Health Care, one of the top US based home healthcare companies, a certified provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. In fact, BAYADA Is the one home care provider in the US to have three such simulation labs - giving them the unmatched advantage of being the recognized experts in tracheostomy and ventilator care at home.

The curriculum employs a variety of teaching techniques and instructional methodologies to support nursing and interprofessional education. Among the educational strategies used are the following:

• Simulation using computerized adult manikins
• Role-playing
• Self-instruction
• Faculty-assisted instruction and task trainers to develop specific hands-on skills
• Innovative, state-of-the-art multimedia

Key concepts in the learning environment include the following:

• Patient safety
• Communication
• Interdisciplinary collaboration (between IHHC staff and other healthcare set ups)
• Teamwork
• Cultural competence
• Informatics
• Evidence-based practice

All this training allows us to achieve our objective: to provide our clinical staff with a safe and realistic environment – in which they are introduced to best practices in patient safety and quality care. At the same time, they learn to think critically, solve problems. and provide care in a safe, non-threatening and nurturing environment.

BY THIYAGARAJAN VELAYUTHAM, FOUNDER, IHHC | JUNE 22ND, 2018