Twenty questions: Increased frequency of social determinants of health addressed with interprofessional student teams in a simulated interview with standardized patients

Abstract

Conducting a holistic patient interview, including assessment of social determinants of health (SDH), is a foundational skill necessary in patient care, although different health professionals often focus on different aspects of the interview. To better understand students’ approaches to a patient interview, an interprofessional education session was developed where medical, nursing and pharmacy students worked together to obtain a patient history from a standardized patient (SP). Students were provided with a case and were asked to work uniprofessionally to draft 20 interview questions. They then came together in interprofessional teams to determine a collective final list of 20 questions. After interviewing the SP, teams discussed a plan of care with the SP. The uniprofessional and interprofessional lists of interview questions were analyzed for themes related to SDH, including socioeconomic, access, cultural, and impact factors. Pharmacy students asked more questions related to access, while medical and nursing students asked more questions related to impact. There was an increase in the number of SDH questions when the students worked interprofessionally and with the SP. The study findings support the benefit of conducting interprofessional education with students utilizing SPs to allow practice in holistic patient interviewing and addressing SDH that affect patient outcomes.