“You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours”: Reciprocal Intraprofessional Collaboration for OB Simulation

Abstract

Childbearing Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program Simulation is a widely used educational strategy that promotes critical thinking and clinical decision‐making skills. It often is integrated into nursing school curricula, but more recently is used by hospitals to train nursing staff. Though intraprofessional simulation is a “hot topic” in education, there is minimal evidence of collaborative simulation efforts within a profession. This program demonstrates how nursing school faculty can collaborate with medical center nurses to provide enhanced simulation experiences through sharing pedagogic and clinical expertise and resources. Proposed Change In this intraprofessional collaborative endeavor, experienced practicing nurses from UNC Hospitals assisted faculty from the UNC School of Nursing to facilitate six simulation cases for over 100 students per semester for three semesters. In a reciprocal manner, faculty assisted these nurses and their nurse manager to run case scenarios for the nurses who were new to obstetrics. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation The UNC School of Nursing has a high‐fidelity simulation learning lab, which includes birthing and newborn simulators. The labor and delivery unit's nurse manager asked to use this lab to ensure that her staff had quality training in recognizing and responding to obstetric emergencies. After visiting the simulation learning lab and observing nursing students participate in simulations, the manager and several experienced nurses collaborated with faculty to enhance the content and flow of the simulation scenarios. The nurse manager arranged for equipment and supplies to be provided to the UNC School of Nursing so that the simulation setting was more realistic. Implications for Nursing Practice Intraprofessional collaboration is a win–win situation for nurse educators and nursing staff. The sharing of resources and expertise provides opportunities for realistic, simulated learning experiences.