Analysis of Student Outcomes from an Interprofessional Education Transitions of Care Simulation

Abstract

Authors & Affiliations: Erik Feldtmann, BSN1, Valerie Nemov, BS1, Presley G. Busch, BS2, Vinita Kiluk, MD3, Andrew Galligan, MD, MS3, Amy Weiss, MD, MPH3, Scott Coon, PharmD, BCACP2, Aimon C. Miranda, PharmD, BCPS2, Dawn Schocken, MPH4, Erini S. Serag-Bolos, PharmD2 1USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL. 2USF Taneja College of Pharmacy, Tampa, FL. 3Department of Pediatrics, USF Health, Tampa, FL.4Department of Medical Education, USF Health, Tampa, FL. Abstract Title: Analysis of Student Outcomes from an Interprofessional Education Transitions of Care Simulation Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) improves students’ understanding of other professions, promotes communication skills, and facilitates a high functioning healthcare team. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate changes in students’ behavior and knowledge as they worked through virtual transitions of care simulations with their interprofessional teams. The secondary objective was to evaluate whether student knowledge of pediatric asthma exacerbation treatment improved through an interprofessional simulation. Methods: Third year medical (n= 164) and pharmacy (n= 139) students at the University of South Florida participated in an IPE simulation via Microsoft Teams in 2021 and 2022. Students were presented with a pediatric (age 12) asthma exacerbation patient and progressed through four, 15-minute stations. Each station required clinical management in the following scenarios: emergency department, pediatric critical care, pediatric floor, and discharge planning. Pre- and post-simulation surveys included nine identical questions and were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, and the MEANS Procedure. Results: Students showed statistically significant improvement in each domain, including understanding their roles and abilities to work in an interdisciplinary environment and clinical knowledge. There was no significant difference found between cohorts, indicating that students from each year benefited from participation similarly. When analyzing differences based on professional program, it was found that interdisciplinary and clinical knowledge improved for both medical and pharmacy students, although they did not always benefit equally. Conclusion: This simulation improved both medical and pharmacy students’ perceptions of interdisciplinary healthcare teams and their ability to manage a pediatric asthma exacerbation patient.