Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of an Interprofessional Simulation

Abstract

Clinical placements and interprofessional practice for healthcare students are often met with anxiety, unpreparedness and a lack of confidence. Whilst interprofessional simulations may address these concerns, there are gaps in the literature. This study aimed to: (i) investigate the impact of interprofessional simulations on students’ perceived confidence, anxiety and preparedness for placements and their attitudes toward interprofessional practice and education, and, (ii) understand students’ experiences and satisfaction with the simulation. Pre-simulation and post-simulation survey results were collected from 25 speech pathology and 25 occupational therapy graduate-entry Masters degree students from one Australian university. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test while qualitative data was reviewed through content analysis. Statistically significant (p<0.05) improvements across students’ confidence, anxiety and preparedness ratings were observed. Students’ attitudes towards interprofessional practice and education revealed statistically significant positive changes on 8/10 questions and they described the simulation to be a meaningful learning experience. Results indicate that following participation in an interprofessional simulation, students’ perceptions of their confidence, anxiety and preparedness for an adult inpatient hospital placement improved. Moreover, students’ attitudes towards interprofessional practice and education were more positive and the experience was reported to be beneficial. Future studies could explore timing-related considerations and simulation anxiety itself.