The use of storyboarding and digital storytelling to better represent the patient

a missed opportunity to reinforce clinical skills?

Dr Fred Pender, University of Edinburgh 23 June 2014, CSMEN Stirling

Renaissance

Scenarios: fit for purposeEngagement: moving the patient’s story from narrative to a more memorable learning medium

PBL, the patient and clinical skills

• PBL nested within modules• PBL fosters conduit between module content (the

sciences) and the patient experience (clinical application)

• No real intention to link with skills curriculum

Better representation of the patient in scenarios (the person, not the patient)Closer match to attributes to assist in

consultation processes

Rationale for study• A learner is more engaged with contextual,

authentic problems • A properly developed story facilitates learning

both directly [triggers] and indirectly by assisting the mental construction of a sequence of events

• Patient-centred and visually-rich scenarios are more memorable and therefore transferable

Storyboarding

• A technique developed for use in film and animation

• A way of telling a story, visually-stimulating, easily understood [and therefore remembered] and engaging

• Cells or frames arranged to tell a story; the frames contain visual material [hooks]; text is added [trigger material] to assist students to explore the story

Preparing for capturing the story

Storytelling café

Preparing for capturing the story

Preparing for capturing the story

Storytelling café

Storytelling café

Capturing the story

Capturing the story

Creating the storyboard

WorkbookCapturing the patient story using the storyboard technique

Storyboard technique

• Framework to develop creative flow of information

• Stepwise building of story from initial concept into a visual output [‘comic strip’]

• Storyboard hand-drawn in pencil, no great artwork required [stick figures]

• Storyboard finished by graphic artist [camera ready version]

Output

• 8 cell cartoon storyboard • PBL triggers are the visual material featured

in the story cells, together with added speech and thought bubbles

• Students encouraged to write captions• Care taken not to lose the sense, originality or

freshness of student effort

Digital storytelling

• Computer-based tools to tell stories• Digital stories contain a mixture of images,

narrative, docu-soaps, voice-over, video-clips or music

• Opportunity to integrate learning, such as clinically-rich information, including skills and empathy

Outputs

• 4-6 prototype case scenarios• Person-centred, clinically rich (including skills)• Variable outputs (mix of strands to reinforce

skills)• Planned to ‘go live’ with new ePBL hub• Evaluation and testing 2014/2015 • Skills integral

‘A cruise down the alimentary canal’

• Patient with functional vomiting• ‘…hasn’t eaten for 14 years…’• Nutritional / hydration assessment skills• Nutritional monitoring skills (infection)• Clinical intervention skills (ANS)• Narrative time-line, snippets from review OP

appointment sourced from media files, clinical documentation

Take home messages• Students engage enthusiastically with the story

crafting process • Students interviewing/ interpersonal skills

excellent/ growing emotional skills• Ideal for person-centred, time-line case

scenarios/ proof of concept • A learning opportunity; outputs developed by

‘naïve-to-topic’ students• Potential as a powerful learning tool