Successful relationships are built on meaningful connections. Using 360 degree technology, digital platforms and realistic patient-centred interaction, students were able to negotiate the complexities of communication in a safe environment and build confidence in their own abilities. A multimodal technology-enhanced approach was used to explore the development of building meaningful connections with people through artefacts in order to facilitate relationship building. This approach was based in transformative learning principles and involved 4 separate activities scaffolded in order to provide a range of experiences from which students could learn, and on which they could reflect. Artefacts such as personal items and photographs allow connections to be made between past and present, time and place, and metaphorically to identity, belonging and attachment. Used to initiate conversation with others, artefacts provided a powerful way to prepare students to connect and build therapeutic relationships with patients.
