Results Of An Effort To Integrate Quality And Safety Into Medical And Nursing School Curricula And Foster Joint Learning

Abstract

Improvements in health care are slow, in part because doctors and nurses lack skills in quality improvement, patient safety, and interprofessional teamwork. This article reports on the Retooling for Quality and Safety initiative of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which sought to integrate improvement and patient safety into medical and nursing school curricula. In one academic year, 2009-10, the initiative supported new learning activities (87 percent of which were interprofessional, involving both medical and nursing students) in classrooms, simulation centers, and clinical care settings that involved 1,374 student encounters at six universities. The work generated insights-described in this article-into which learning goals require interprofessional education; how to create clinically based improvement learning for all students; and how to demonstrate the effects on students' behavior, organizational practice, and benefits to patients. A commonly encountered limiting factor for the programs was the lack of a critical mass of clinically based faculty members who were ready to teach about the improvement of care. What's more, the paucity of robust evaluation strategies for such programs suggests a future research agenda that deserves to be funded.

Meeting North Carolina's Health Care Needs Through Interprofessional Education and Practice

“…A key factor for success in accomplishing the magnitude of curricular change needed is the presence of committed faculty members who understand, practice, and can teach future generations of health professionals how to create optimal care environments using effective care teams. According to a recent report on interprofessional education by Headrick and colleagues [8], "a commonly encountered limiting factor . .…”

“…However, traditionally trained medical educators are not equipped with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills required for teaching these competencies [8,10]. In particular, few educators have ever participated in interprofessional education or grown comfortable with team-based care programs [10].…”

Clinical simulation and patient safety: integration into the nursing curriculum

“…En Estados Unidos se han definido un número específico de simulaciones para desarrollar competencias interprofesionales [33]. Este cambio en la docencia se considera positivo, planteándose para la mejora de los resultados de la atención en salud creando una cultura de seguridad que implica disminuir los errores generados por Factores Humanos y mejorar el enfrentamiento de situaciones de crisis [34].…”

Interprofessional Education and Practice in Athletic Training

“…33 Numerous studies have verified that the quality of patient care does improve with increased teamwork among health professionals. [34][35][36][37][38][39] Many health profession educators realize intuitively that their students need multiple instructional events and opportunities to practice interprofessional teamwork. They also need to see their respective faculty members working together in a collegial way in order to appreciate the importance of mutual respect and reliance among health professionals.…”