The HealthCAST program: Interdisciplinary, simulated-patient education with health care and theatre students

Abstract

HealthCAST (Collaboratively Acted Simulation Training), a simulated patient program developed between a university's nursing and theatre programs, models how multiple departments collaborated to create an interprofessional, simulated-patient program. HealthCAST had two goals: 1 Provide opportunities for skill acquisition and feedback for health care and theatre students. 2 Apply basic quality management principles (measurement, assessment, improvement) to continuously improve the process (simulation learning) and outcomes (knowledge and skills acquisition) for participants. This article describes the process used to create the program, including an analysis of the program's results. The quality management process supported the use of HealthCAST to provide interprofessional education for students in health care and theatre. Lessons learned from the development and evaluation of the program included: (1) engage local partners; (2) use a simulated-patient model; (3) articulate expectations; (4) bridge professions; (5) debrief using open-ended questions; and (6) evaluate often, using mixed methods.