Outcomes of an interprofessional simulation curriculum

Abstract

Purpose -Interprofessional education (IPE) is a method to create an environment that fosters interprofessional communication, understanding the roles and responsibilities of each profession, learning the skills to organize and communicate information for patients, families and members of the health care team. Providing IPE to health professional students can prepare them in the workforce to have the necessary skills to function in a collaborative practice ready environment. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the methods used in developing IPE curriculum, faculty training as debriefers/ facilitators, identify learning objectives and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -The faculty and student surveys utilized a Likert scale. Learning objectives for the student survey assessed learning objective including communication of roles and responsibilities, communication and organization of information, engagement of other health professions (HP) in shared patient-centered problem solving, interprofessional assessment of patient status, and preparation of patients from transition of care to home. The faculty survey assessed faculty experience levels in IPE, role as facilitator/debriefer, and future needs for sustainability of the program.Findings -Student evaluation of IPE simulation experience revealed students believed they improved their interprofessional communication skills and had a better understanding of health professional roles and responsibilities. Faculty feedback indicated that HP students achieved learning objectives and their continued commitment to IPE however additional training and development were identified as areas of need. Practical implications -This paper can assist other educational institutions in developing IPE and structuring IPE assessment particularly in the HPs. Social implications -The public health care will be impacted positively by having health care providers specifically trained to work in teams and understand collaborative care. Student graduates in the HPs will be better prepared to function as a team in real clinical care following their participation in interprofessional simulation. Originality/value -This interprofessional simulation curriculum involves student learners from eight different HPs and participation of over 30 faculty from differing professions. This curriculum is unique in its bread and depth of collaboration and true teamwork across disciplines.

Critical dimensions for the effective design and use of simulation exercises for emergency management in higher education

“…There is an expanding market for higher education (HE) courses and degree programmes that address concerns relating to disasters, both at undergraduate and master’s level, from various disciplinary perspectives (Keen-Dyer et al , 2015). The HE sector should provide students, as future disaster responders, with the ability to make sense of complex problems, in order to operate efficiently in transdisciplinary environments (DeMarco et al , 2015; Remington-Doucette et al , 2013). Dissolving disciplinary boundaries can enable students from different degree programmes to collaboratively tackle complex and transdisciplinary problems (DeMarco et al , 2015; Remington-Doucette et al , 2013) including emergencies and disasters (Simonovic, 2011), by providing inputs from different disciplinary perspectives (Remington-Doucette et al , 2013) such as transport, logistics, healthcare, project management, engineering, and communications.…”

“…An interactive and collaborative environment that promotes active learning is essential across the HE sector (Daouk et al , 2016). Therefore, tools and techniques such as simulation exercises (SEs) that promote interaction and collaboration amongst students from different disciplines are potentially valuable (DeMarco et al , 2015). SEs are a technique that can “[…] replace or amplify real experiences with guided experiences that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive manner” (Gaba, 2004, p. i2).…”

“…Providing HE students access to work settings can be challenging and SEs offer a useful substitute for practical work placements (Hopwood et al , 2016). Furthermore, SEs integrate different aspects of HE curricula that are learned elsewhere, provide a safe environment where mistakes have no negative or lasting physical consequences, and address perceptions that HE learning lacks authenticity or relevance to practice (DeMarco et al , 2015; Gaba, 2004; Hopwood et al , 2016).…”

“…The use of SEs in HE is increasing across various disciplines (Abrandt Dahlgren et al , 2016; DeMarco et al , 2015; Hopwood et al , 2016), but barriers still persist. One of the main barriers is the perceived time required for developing and performing SEs, particularly when considered against the learning outcomes (DeMarco et al , 2015). A lack of resources, administrative issues and technical challenges can be problematic (DeMarco et al , 2015).…”

“…One of the main barriers is the perceived time required for developing and performing SEs, particularly when considered against the learning outcomes (DeMarco et al , 2015). A lack of resources, administrative issues and technical challenges can be problematic (DeMarco et al , 2015). Differences also persist between pedagogical approaches and expected SEs outcomes (Abrandt Dahlgren et al , 2016).…”