Around Town: A simulated community reintegration interprofessional learning experience
Purpose: Faculty from professional degree programs in Occupational and Physical Therapy developed a community reintegration activity to facilitate interprofessional communication, awareness of roles and responsibilities, collaboration and the development of mutual respect in decision making among physical and occupational therapy students. This activity clarified professional roles, promoted teamwork, and team-based practice through assessing factors related to patient community reintegration.Methods/Description: Faculty created five cases with varying diagnoses, co-morbidities, mobility and sensory deficits requiring use of assistive devices. Diagnoses included wrist and patella fractures, Parkinson’s disease, emphysema, balance dysfunction, and humeral fracture with chronic back pain. One case also included visual deficits created by wearing vision simulator glasses. Twenty-four teams of 1 OT/2 PT students worked together with 1 PT serving as the simulated patient and the other PT and OT working as “treating therapists” for the patient. Each team had 90 minutes to examine the patient, environment and accessibility of various locations including grocery stores, coffee shops, post office, library, drug stores, and retail shops. The 24 sites used were within a 3-mile radius of the university and the “therapists” were responsible for transporting their patient. Each team documented their findings, generated a problem list, made recommendations and developed a plan of care listing interventions specifying the roles of each discipline.Results/Outcomes: Physical and occupational therapy both address patient function and mobility in the community, which presents a unique opportunity for an innovative simulated interprofessional experience. Pre- and post-surveys explored student understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each discipline, the effect of teamwork on decision-making for patient-centered care, the purpose of community reintegration, and the impact of the simulated interprofessional activity on their future practice. Objectives for this interprofessional simulation activity were met based on class discussion and survey results. Students gained an understanding and mutual respect for each discipline’s contribution and the value of collaborating as a team to make decisions for patient care. This simulated activity increased student awareness of community barriers to reintegration and the need to address function outside of the clinic environment.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: Integrating meaningful interprofessional learning activities reinforces communication, teamwork and team-based practice, and roles and responsibilities for collaboration to enhance patient-centered care. Innovative educational simulation activities can support development of interprofessional collaborative practice, which is integral to healthcare.References: Bethea D, Smith N, Allison L. Impact of Standardized Patient Experience on Interprofessional Readiness and Role Definition: A Pilot Study. Am J Occup Ther. 2016;70(4_Supplement_1), 7011510230p1-7011510230p1. Shrader S, Kern D, Zoller J, Blue A. Interprofessional teamwork skills as predictors of clinical outcomes in a simulated healthcare setting. 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