O18 Embracing virtual simulation based education: using virtual simulation to support young people who face social inequalities to pursue careers in medicine

Introduction/Background Young people from areas of social deprivation are faced with inequalities in both educational and career opportunities.1 University Hospital Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of outreach simulation activities for secondary and college students faced with these inequalities. The service aims to encourage students to consider an NHS career and provide them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to pursue it. Summary of education programme The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in many students home schooling and significant healthcare pressures halting planned outreach simulation activities. To accommodate these challenges we embraced virtual engagement. This required our team to develop skills as faculty and develop a programme accessible to young people receiving and healthcare workers delivering. The ‘Medicine Clinic’ aimed at 14–18 year olds considering medical careers offered a two-hour virtual session plus access to pre-event recorded material. A live webinar exploring the application process, accessing a contextual offer at Bristol University and a personal journey of applying to medicine. We then conducted a live simulation of a clinically unwell adult via a high definition camera system with live streaming capability. The students communicated via the chat box function to advise us on how we should assess and treat the patient, concluding with a debrief. The final part of the session facilitated students to simulate answering pre sent mock interview questions and ask the faculty for example answers. We have offered the students a junior doctor mentor to support their application to medicine. Outcomes 100% Completion of both a pre and post session questionnaire and all students opted for mentorship. All candidates found the session useful, informative and would recommend to a peer. Discussion and Conclusion The positive feedback from young people was very encouraging in terms of the content delivered however; we found the biggest issue related to technical difficulties. Using a sophisticated camera system offered high quality video definition however, potentially over complicated the session. The streaming capacity was limited which affected the student’s ability at times to take part in the simulation. Offering more than one engagement is proven to be more effective2 which is why we are offering a mentorship program however, we plan to hold another virtual event closer to interview season. Recommendations A follow up session to enable us to offer further support and track the application journeys of students Utilise a webcam and simpler technology. References Social Mobility Commission. State of the Nation 2018-19: Social Mobility in Great Britain. London, United Kingdom: April 2019 Ashwin P, McVitty D. The Meanings of Student Engagement: Implications for Policies and Practices. In: Curaj A, Matei L, Pricopie R, et al., eds. The European Higher Education Area: Between Critical Reflections and Future Policies. Cham: Springer International Publishing 2015. 343–59. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0_23