Everest simulation, immersive activities boost engagement, retention for professionals seeking to sharpen leadership skills

You have joined a climbing expedition aiming to summit the world’s tallest mountain. The team of climbers is wrestling with whether to press ahead as they face illness and severe weather. The team discusses options, and the decision falls to you: Do you remain with the sick teammate, or press ahead to the peak?

In the Leadership for Healthcare Professionals open online course series, this scenario unfolds through an elaborate video production, thanks to a collaboration with the Center for Academic Innovation at the University of Michigan.

Aided by their expertise, School of Nursing faculty members Michelle Aebersold and Barbara Medvec recreated an Everest expedition—an activity they have used in residential classes—to immerse learners in a challenging and unfamiliar situation.

The backdrop features bright yellow and red tents, howling winds and snow-covered boulders. This Mount Everest extended reality production appeals to health care professionals as they navigate leadership challenges on the virtual mountain.

“Nurses are innovators by nature because you don’t always have everything at your fingertips,” said Medvec, clinical associate professor at the School of Nursing. “So they critically think. They look at the whole patient, the whole situation and how they can get things done innovatively.”

Engaged learning benefits health care learners

The Leadership for Healthcare Professionals series includes multiple immersive activities designed to teach critical thinking, effective communication and quality improvement to health care workers seeking leadership growth.

Understanding the many benefits of engaged learning, Medvec and Aebersold crafted their first massive open online course with a high number of activities for health care learners.

“When we look at good patient care, learning through rote memorization is not the best way to do it. But engaged learning is,” said Aebersold, School of Nursing clinical professor and clinical associate professor at the School of Information.

Tapping into the center’s expertise in XR, generative AI and virtual production, they built a unique and immersive learner experience. Medvec and Aebersold acknowledged that designing simulations and virtual activities is daunting. However, collaboration with the center team allowed them to realize their vision faster, designing engaging scenarios that connect learners to the course material better than a standard lecture.

Simulations provide a safe space to learn

Engaged learning is not only dynamic but also allows students to apply newfound knowledge in a safe setting, where they can make mistakes and learn from those experiences.

For example, in the second course in the series, learners are tasked with redesigning a hospital room to better serve patients and their families. This exercise would not be possible in real life, but an interactive experience allows students to test different layouts.

The third course in the series incorporates Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, aiming to reduce waste and improve efficiency through an activity in which learners have five minutes to reassemble Mr. Potato Head toys involved in a bus accident.

“Simulation is kind of a sweet spot for us because you can use immersive technology and you are in the situation,” Medvec said. “You can practice how you are going to react in that situation, and navigate it in a way that is highly professional, highly competent and comfortable.”

This skillset is not always covered in clinical instruction, but the importance of learning how to make quick, effective and accurate decisions has increased in today’s medical arena. The instructors offer various simulations and activities for the online learners to emphasize key leadership lessons and meet the demand of nurses and health care workers seeking impactful instruction that fits into a busy schedule.

“I think our learners are a little bit more discerning,” Aebersold said. “They have a hunger for knowledge and want to get into some of these fields but don’t have access or the ability to do a whole master’s program.”

Leadership for Healthcare Professionals is available on Coursera, with U-M students, faculty, staff and alumni able to enroll for free through Michigan Online.