Using nominal group technique to determine skills that applied improvisation can teach health profession education learners

OBJECTIVE: Applied improvisation (AI) is an approach used in health professions (HP) education to teach skills essential for clinical practice such as communication, teamwork, and empathy. Little is known about which skills can be developed using AI, or those which an AI should prioritize. Our research aims to identify skills essential to include in an AI curriculum for HP learners. METHODS: A modified nominal group technique (NGT) was conducted to identify and prioritize specific skills which can be taught using AI. This involved silent generation of ideas, round robin, discussions, 2-rounds of preliminary voting, and a final ranking survey to determine a prioritized list of skills to include in an AI curriculum for HP learners. RESULTS: Six content experts participated in the NGT meeting. Initially, 83 skills were identified, and through NGT, a final list of 11 skills essential to an AI curriculum were determined including: adaptability, affirmation of others, acceptance, active listening, being present, cooperation, collaboration with other, advancement, compassionate communication, sharpened non-verbal communication, resilience. CONCLUSION: Essential skills for an AI curriculum relate to adaptability, attunement, collaboration, affirmation, and advancement. INNOVATION: This study is a novel application of NGT as a strategy to organize an approach to curriculum innovations.