Design and pilot study of an interactive application for the acquisition of competencies in the neuropsychological assessment of cancer patients

Abstract

Objective: The development of competencies by clinicians is a complex process that integrates knowledge and skills that are developed through supervised learning experiences. To enhance this learning process, the main purpose of the present work was to build an interactive application to train students and novice professionals in the acquisition of competencies for the neuropsychological assessment of the cancer patient. Methods: A preliminary version of the application was built with Shiny and a pilot study was carried out with postgraduate students in psycho-oncology and palliative care to evaluate different aspects of the tool, as well as their satisfaction and perceived usefulness in relation to the process of learning clinical competencies. Results: Based on the evaluations provided on different aspects of the application (e.g., organization of the interface), the tool proved to be suitable for use as a training resource for students and novice professionals. Users showed high satisfaction with the use of the application and considered it very useful for the acquisition of competencies in the clinical setting for which it was intended. Conclusions: This work provides an interactive resource to improve the acquisition of competencies in the field of cancer patient assessment through the simulation of clinical cases based on real patients and the illustration of the different phases of the assessment process.