Transferring health professionals social and cognitive skills: key findings from a qualitative investigation

Background: Research shows that simulation-based training can increase knowledge and skills among pregraduate healthcare students, that simulation-based training of technical skills places the participants higher on the learning curve in practice, and that simulation-based training can improve participants’ social and cognitive skills. Nevertheless, how cognitive and social knowledge and skills are transferred into clinical practice competency remains unknown. This study aims to explore qualified in-hospital health professionals transfer of social and cognitive skills from a simulation-based training course to competency in everyday clinical practice. Method: A qualitativeResearch shows that simulation-based training can increase phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology and an ethnographic study investigate qualified health professionals’ social and cognitive skills transfer before, during, and after a simulation-based training course. The data collection comprises three phases: a clinical phase, a simulation-based training phase and a transfer phase; each phase is based on a subsequent analysis of the previous phase. Data consist of approximately 107 h of video recordings, field notes and reflections within the research team. Data are analysed with RICEA, a qualitative hybrid method of a Ricɶur-Inspired Analysis and Cognitive Event Analysis. Findings: The analysis reveals three key themes: individual transfer of learning, intercollegiate transfer of learning and organisational transfer of learning. The findings imply that transfer of social and cognitive skills happens on an individual and intercollegiate level. Still, transfer needs to be scaffolded on an organisational level so that cognitive and social knowledge becomes competency in clinical practice. Further, the findings imply that transferring social and cognitive skills needs a different focus from transferring technical skills. Transfer, internalisation and retention of social and cognitive skills are inadequate because of insufficient organisational focus on transferring social and cognitive skills. Conclusion: Findings suggest a need for a broader and more profound focus on transferring social and cognitive skills to competency in clinical practice. Involving local ambassadors and increased collaboration between simulation centres and organisations around the transfer phase could optimise social and cognitive skills transfer. However, further research is needed in this area. Trial registration: N/A.