Historically, simulation-based education (SBE) has been delivered to uniprofessional groups by uniprofessional faculty. This does not reflect the way we work in delivering patient care. There is international agreement that pre-registration healthcare students should experience interprofessional education (IPE) to prepare them for practice [1]. Within the United Kingdom, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are embedding IPE as part of pre-registration curriculums. The aim of this project was to develop and evaluate an interprofessional clinical simulation course to explore the concepts of teamwork. The course was delivered to pre-registration medical, nursing, and pharmacy students.
A group of interprofessional simulation educators from three HEIs in the West of Scotland worked collaboratively to develop the intended learning outcomes (ILO) and design the simulation-based course. During the course, up to six students (three medical, two nursing, and one pharmacy) worked in a simulated medical ward scenario to prioritise and deliver care to patients. Following the session, interprofessional faculty co-facilitated a structured debriefing. The ‘Plus/Delta’ model of debriefing [2] was used and output analysed using qualitative content analysis. Ethical approval was granted by University of Glasgow medical school ethics committee to evaluate the learning experience utilising a mixed methods approach.
A total of 65 courses were delivered over eight days with 232 student participants (178 medical, 33 nursing, and 21 pharmacy students). A framework for content analysis was developed using the ILOs which was used to code the take-home messages (THM) recorded as part of each debriefing. There were 148 THM that related to teamwork and collaboration. A further 51 THM were related to understanding what each team member brings to patient care. Finally, 53 THM related to factors that may influence teamwork such as feeling afraid, resulting in a lack of confidence.
Evaluation of the THM suggests that the ILOs were met. It is recognised that to enable healthcare professionals to work together to deliver safe, effective patient care, they should learn together. Delivering IPE to pre-registration healthcare students builds a foundation for life-long interprofessional learning.
1. World Health Organisation. Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2010
2. Dismukes RK, Smith GM. Facilitation and debriefing in aviation training and operations. Routledge; 2017.
Preparation for practice: ‘we don’t practice in isolation, so let’s train together’
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