Health Commun.  2022 Jun;17(1):57-62. 10.15715/kjhcom.2022.17.1.57.

The effect of improving system thinking and innovative behavior of hospital staff using tabletop simulation

• Lee ST
• Park KH

• KMID: 2536286
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15715/kjhcom.2022.17.1.57

Abstract

Purpose
: This study investigates the effects of a tabletop simulation game called Friday Night at the Emergency Room (FNER) on the premise that experience leads to systems thinking and innovative behavior in hospital staff.
Methods
: This is a one-group pretest-posttest design study for 17 hospital staff. The tools were the systems thinking scale (STS; 20 questions), an innovative behavior questionnaire (IBQ; 9 questions), and a self-reflection essay. Paired t-test, Cohen’s d effect sizes, and content analysis were used for the analysis.
Results
: After participating in the FNER game for hospital staff, systems thinking did not significantly improve, and the effect size of the program was low. But innovative behavior significantly improved, and the effect size of the program was high. Because of the contents of the self-reflection essay analysis, the importance of teamwork included the understanding of the hospital system.
Conclusion
: The educational effects of simulation-based FNER games are different depending on the organizational experience. Hospital educators should consider conducting complex problem-solving exercises, such as FNER, on new employees or early-experienced hospital staff to enhance and challenge the staff’s systems thinking and innovative behavior.

Keyword

Hospital staff; Systems thinking; Innovative behaviors; Simulation