International Journal of Healthcare Simulation

To the Editor-in-Chief,

I would like to thank and commend Tallentire et al. [1] for their article on the impact of interprofessional (IP) simulation on professional relationships. The study addresses most of the micro factors (socialization and learning context) mentioned by D’amour and Oandasan [2]. Tallentire et al. have also discussed the need to address the institutional (meso) and systemic (macro) factors in achieving desired outcomes. The participants in their study fall into the first stage described by Khalili et al. [3], where the learners address misconceptions about their roles and deal with attitudes about their roles and profession from other professionals. This is also described as a stage of awareness and exposure (uniprofessional identity) by Aldriwesh et al. [4]. The query arises on the impact of a single session on a complex outcome like intergroup relations. Literature shows that there are stages of IP role learning, with IP allegiances and dual identity developing later [3]. The impact of IP education varies, with differences in outcomes observed between early, late and continuous delivery. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in social comparisons and achievement of a sense of belonging to an IP team among the participants with repeated exposure, as a group, to simulation.