Utilization of an interprofessional simulation experience to change student perception of interprofessional education
Purpose: Collaborative practice in healthcare results in improved patient safety, quality healthcare delivery and overall optimal health services.1 To produce a healthcare workforce that is “collaborative practice-ready”, interprofessional education must be introduced and intentionally incorporated into the appropriate curriculums to allow students to learn about, from and with other healthcare professionals. Similarly, simulation-based education has demonstrated effective results in improving patient care services and better patient outcomes in a learning environment that is safe, structured and reproducible.2,3 The purpose of this study is to determine if an interprofessional simulation experience changes Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Bachelor of Respiratory Therapy (RT) students’ perception of interprofessional education and effectively meets learning objectives established to promote interprofessional communication, collaborative implementation of skilled therapy and effective team assessment of the patient’s intervention response.Methods/Description: Participants: 70 DPT students enrolled in a Cardiopulmonary PTand 15 RT students enrolled in RT Science III. Methodology: All students were invited to participate in an anonymous survey prior to the scheduled simulation experience. The survey included: identification of program enrollment, any prior interprofessional education training, and the Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) Instrument. An interprofessional simulation lab experience was designed to include both DPT and RT students in the early mobilization of a ventilated high-fidelity simulation mannequin with complex cardiopulmonary clinical presentation. Immediately following the lab, students were invited again to complete a second anonymous survey that included the SPICE-R Instrument and Simulation Effectiveness Tool- Modified.Results/Outcomes: 80 students participated in the Pre-experience survey and 60 participated in the Post-experience survey. In general, there was a positive shift in student perception as noted between SPICE-R surveys. The simulation experience appears to have had the greatest impact on student’s feeling that their education is enhanced when working with students from another health profession. 23.8% responded Strongly Agree pre-experience and 70.0% responded Strongly Agree post-experience. Students also perceived that patient satisfaction is improved when a patient is treated by a team that consists of individuals from two or more health professions.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: Survey results demonstrated a positive shift in student perception of interprofessional education. IPE embedded into health professional curriculums through innovative simulation experiences can have a positive impact on student perception on the value of IPE as well as the positive patient outcomes that result from interprofessional collaboration.References: 1. Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washington, D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative. 2. Schmidt E, Goldhaber-Fiebert SN, Ho LA, McDonald KM. Simulation exercises as a patient safety strategy: a systematic review. Ann Int Med 2013;158 (5_Part_2):426–32. 3. Thomas EM, Rybski MF, Apke TL, Kegelmeyer DA, Kloos AD. An acute interprofessional simulation experience for occupational and physical therapy students: Key findings from a survey study. J Interprof Care. 2017 May;31(3):317-324. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2017.1280006. Epub 2017 Feb 28.