Abstract
The World Health Organization recommends interprofessional training for health care students to create a collaborative practice-ready workforce. Yet students in health profession programs remain educated in silos, and communication problems among health care personnel have been implicated as a cause of most patient errors by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Institute of Medicine, and Joint Commission. These organizations recommend that health care professionals receive training in educational programs that develop effective interdisciplinary communication skills. The purpose of this mixed methods pilot study was to assess student learning from a newly implemented interprofessional simulation scenario that addressed identification and management of patients with swallowing difficulties. The authors recruited 45 nursing and speech- language pathology students. Two instruments were used to measure quantitative outcomes including the Simulation Design Scale and the Student Satisfaction and Self Confidence in Learning questionnaire. The results were statistically significant for both surveys. Qualitative data were obtained during simulation debriefing sessions, and were coded and analyzed. Two emergent themes indicated that IPE simulation experiences are valued by students from both disciplines. The authors recommend incorporating IPE simulation in the curriculum for health care educational programs.
Highlights
Students in health profession programs are traditionally educated in silos
They are expected to function as part of a health care team, collaborating with others to care for patients from admission to discharge
The purpose of the study was to pilot the new interprofessional education (IPE) simulation training which focused on the identification and management of patients with swallowing difficulties and to assess the following learning outcomes: (a) Recognize the signs and symptoms of dysphagia and the importance of communication and teamwork in preventing aspiration, (b) Recall teamwork and communication strategies, (c) Recognize or restate team skills, (d) Put into practice those team skills that they have encountered during the course in a simulated clinical environment, and (e) Increase preparedness for working as part of a collaborative ready health workforce
Summary
Students in health profession programs are traditionally educated in silos. Upon graduation, they are expected to function as part of a health care team, collaborating with others to care for patients from admission to discharge. The Joint Commission [5,6] reported that communication breakdowns were the leading root cause of sentinel events between 1995 and 2006 To resolve this situation, the Joint Commission issued National Patient Safety Goals to improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers and recommended creating a culture that encourages team training. The American Association for Critical Care Nurses [7] recommends that team members have access to educational programs that develop critical communication skills
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