An online health simulation utilized by Dartmouth College’s Masters of Health Care Delivery Science program proves more effective in teaching healthcare practitioners core population health principles than typical didactic and case-based methods. Come discuss features that contribute to learning effectiveness, and compare the online and face-to-face delivery methods.
A national crisis in the affordability of healthcare has led to rapid development and adoption of new payment and delivery models with an emphasis on efficiency, value creation, and prevention by addressing social determinants of health. Healthcare clinicians and leaders have long struggled to integrate the core knowledge and skills inherent in these rapidly growing areas of population health management and healthcare delivery science. Typical educational approaches to overcome these deficits have emphasized didactic knowledge transfer or case-based learning, with marginal success. An online simulation utilized over the past 6 years in a hybrid online executive degree program at Dartmouth College, however, may be superior to those traditional education approaches. The simulation allows participants to experiment with the implementation of a variety of real-world health and healthcare initiatives in a virtual community, and explore the potential outcomes measured in dozens of variables. Reflecting the best available evidence and run within reasonable financial and time constraints, this experience has provided remarkably successful in promoting dialogue and exploration of new approaches, collaborations and partnerships that healthcare organizations must consider to adapt and thrive in market conditions characterized by uncertainty and near constant change. A recent transition from residential to online delivery appears to have enhanced the depth of learning, as reflected in the complexity of analysis provided by student teams engaged with the simulation. The likely reason for this is the longer time frame that online delivery allowed, compared to a face-to-face setting. This interactive discussion will explore the health dynamics simulation, features that contribute to effectiveness, and compare the online and residential learning experiences.