- Carly Jones: Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. ORCID
- Nayia Cominos: Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
AIM: To understand student and clinical educator experiences and practices in simulation-based learning curricula linked to rapport-building in midwifery telehealth care interactions.
DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive exploratory design with reflexive thematic analysis.
METHODS: A purposeful sample of three educators and seven midwifery graduates who participated in a simulation-based curriculum in telehealth at a South Australian university participated in semi-structured interviews between January and February of 2024. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using woman-centred care as the core conceptual framework and qualitative social sciences research methodology to explore the values, opinions and behaviours of participants.
RESULTS: Four overarching themes impacting graduate preparedness to practise telehealth were identified: understandings of essential concepts, clinical educator training and perspectives, learner experiences and translation into clinical contexts. Analysis showed the impact of disparate definitions of telehealth, inconsistency in the quality and scope of scenarios, ineffective use of simulation-based learning affordances and lack of opportunities to practise telehealth skills in student placements and subsequent clinical roles.
CONCLUSION: There is scope to improve telehealth education through standardised definitions of telehealth in midwifery care, specific training for clinical educators, focussed scenario development, specific skills training in rapport-building in digital environments and practise in clinical placements.
IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: This study shows that effective telehealth education requires specific communicative and technical skills to ensure midwifery students and graduates are equipped to engage positively with technology to build consistent rapport in telehealth consultations. Once fundamental skills are acquired, this can be extended to interprofessional learning and teaching cultural safety.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY: As telehealth is now part of standard healthcare practice, this timely study offers strategies, which have the potential to be transferable to curricula across all health profession education to ensure rapport building with clients.
PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.