Intraprofessional Collaboration: Innovations in Simulation to Promote PT-PTA Teamwork
Purpose: The Interprofessional Education (IPE) Collaborative upholds simulations as effective experiential activities for practicing communication, collaboration, values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, and safety. While educational research has demonstrated the necessity of effective interdisciplinary team functioning on patient outcomes, the literature is relatively silent on best practices for intraprofessional collaboration. Further, physical therapist (PT) and physical therapist assistant (PTA) academic programs are often challenged to identify mutually convenient times to introduce, practice, and reinforce this collaborative relationship. As such, entry-level clinicians often enter the workforce without a comprehensive awareness of how best to utilize intraprofessional collaboration as a means of optimizing clinical practice and patient care. CAPTE standards now more vigorously reflect the importance of modeling the PT-PTA relationship to optimize communication and team dynamics while simultaneously minimizing role ambiguity. This presentation will highlight the collaborative undertakings of one PT and one PTA program in designing and executing intraprofessional activities for learners across the curriculum. The process for establishing an academic partnership between the PT and PTA program will also be discussed.Methods and/or Description of Project: Tiered learning activities were implemented to promote intraprofessional team work. Using scenarios reflective of both inpatient and outpatient settings, PT and PTA students completed simulations crafted to challenge delivery of culturally-competent, HIPPA-compliant, and safe patient care. Successful completion of each scenario required PT-PTA teams to engage in collaborative problem-solving to address case specific dilemmas. In partnership, all student pairs also completed a worksheet designed to highlight areas of intersection and divergence between the PT and PTA scope of practice as informed by state-specific professional rules and regulations, accreditation standards, and APTA position statements. Lively discussion occurred through both large and small group debriefing sessions to promote reflection on the activity, development of future strategies to solidify highly functioning PT-PTA teams, and mechanisms to professionally resolve situations of conflict.Results/Outcomes: Following the activity, participant feedback was gathered. Qualitative feedback revealed the highly beneficial nature of the experience for both PT and PTA students. Students reported greater appreciation for the roles of their physical therapy colleagues and identified their professional responsibility toward contributing to favorable PT-PTA collaborations. Participant survey data will be shared during the presentation and highlighted for its themes and how feedback trends served to drive future simulation change.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: Professional leadership in healthcare requires investment in teams and the ability to effectively collaborate with others. As integrated care practices become a standard expectation, greater curricular attention must be directed to student development of philosophies and approaches that enable seamless transition between autonomous and collaborative practice. While interprofessional education has soared into the spotlight, intraprofessional education has evolved at a slower pace. This presentation will highlight how carefully constructed experiential learning activities can foster a collaborative relationship between PT and PTA students, thereby ensuring greater readiness for practice of the next generation of rehabilitation providers.References: Yvonne Marie Colgrove, PhD; Lori Maria Walton, PhD; & Lisa Delores VanHoose, PhD. The effects of intraprofessional collaborative case-based learning: a cohort study of student physical therapist & physical therapist assistant perceptions of the physical therapist assistant's role. Journal of Research in Inter professional Practice & Education, Volume 5.1 March 2015. Margaret Plack PT, EdD, Susan Williams PT, DPT, Donna Miller PT, DPT, Fareen Malik PT, DPT, Janice Sniffen PT, PhD, Raymond McKenna PT, PhD, & Grace Gilner PT. Collaboration between physical therapists & physical therapist assistants: fostering the development of the preferred relationship within a classroom setting. 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SBAR improves communication and safety climate and decreases incident reports due to communication errors in an anaesthetic clinic: A prospective intervention study. BMJ Open, 4(1), 1. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004268 Sandahl, C., Gustafsson, H., Wallin, C., Meurling, L., Øvretveit, J., Brommels, M., & Hansson, J. (2013). Simulation team training for improved teamwork in an intensive care unit. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 26(2), 174-88. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09526861311297361 Schoenborn, N. L., & Christmas, C. (2013). Getting out of silos: An innovative transitional care curriculum for internal medicine residents through experiential interdisciplinary learning. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 5(4), 681-685. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-12-00316.1Course Objectives: Upon completion of this presentation, the audience will be able to: 1. Analyze the influence of current interprofessional and intraprofessional education evidence on the development of PT-PTA team experiential learning activities. 2. Utilizing current evidence, design learning activities that promote and enhance PT-PTA teams within diverse clinical settings. 3. Evaluate effective and efficient means of establishing academic partnerships between PT and PTA programs to enable experiential learning opportunities for various cohort sizes, maximize clinical outcomes, and address program-specific accreditation expectations. 4. Assess the effectiveness of learning activities designed to promote and enhance PT-PTA team function.Instructional Methods: Lecture Question and answerTentative Outline/Schedule: I. Discuss evidence supporting various modes of interprofessional education (10 min) II. Review existing literature on PT-PTA collaboration (10 min) III. Present collaborative activities (50 min) a. Simulation b. Role exploration and problem-solving c. Group debrief d. Collaborative engagements e. Outcome data IV. Question and answer (20 min)