/Design directions
Based on the envisioned learning circle, three design directions that have covered different scopes of the learning circle are developed, inspired by research insights and brainstorming.
Exploring how to implement the envisioned learning circle into a design intervention is the first step bridging the research synthesis to the further concept developing. The directions are dicussed with clients from Maasstad Hospital and End of Life Lab for their pros&cons as well as developing possibilities.
This design direction aims to reproduce the whole on-site learning circle in a virtual experience, to be on-site in VR. By creating a virtual training program, it provides nurses a flexible and safe way to get familiar with the palliative terminal care context and practice how to cope with their feelings without limitations.
︎Pros: - Experience and practice without risks of leaving an actual impact on real patients and families;
- Allow reflection at any time and anywhere in the virtual experience;
︎Cons: - There is a risk in emotional&spiritual VR training that it might cause psychological trauma while experiencing alone;
- A need for involving VR application development stakeholder (a third party).
The second design direction focuses on the on-site practice part of the envisioned learning circle. By creating nudges in the working environment like the palliative care ward, nurse station, or inside mobile tablets, the nurses are imperceptibly learning and forming self-awareness behaviors to perform self-care on emotional and spiritual aspects, as well as imperceptibly adapting their cognition with anxiety and fear to peace and acceptance through everytime on-site practice.
︎Pros: - Nurses doesn’t need much extra time for learning and training;
- It’s an inspiring and not invasive way of learning, which is easier for nurses to accept and make use of.
︎Cons: - The nudges in the hospital environment settings need to strictly avoid influencing patients and families, as well as fitting in the hospital and medical system regulation, which might create difficulties in testing and implementation.
The last design direction focuses on the reflection and sharing sections in the envisioned learning circle. The intervention won’t proactively give information, knowledge or inspirations to the nurses, but make use of the value of peer community. It’s an online platform with offline sharing sessions that helps junior and inexperienced nurses reflect on their on-site experience, share their emotional&spiritual concerns or coping strategies, and inspired by other nurses with their different insights or coping strategies. Nurses learn from each others stories supported with self-reflection.
︎Pros: - It encourages to form an energetic communicating and learning community among nurses who just steps into palliative care, and bridging them with experienced nurses.
︎Cons: - It’s difficult to gather nurses into groups to meet and share within their busy working pace and intense shifts.
/Design direction decision
The first design direction - VR virtual training program on emotional and spiritual aspects - is chosen to be developed further into a concept. As the advantages of this direction are already recognized, the other reasons and how it could be inspired by the other design directions are elaborated in the figure below.
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