Improving patient safety by using interprofessional simulation training in health professional education

Abstract

Modern medicine is complex. Reports and surveys demonstrate that patient safety is a major problem. Health educators focus on professional knowledge and less on how to improve patient care and safety. The ability to act as part of a team, fostering communication, co-operation and leadership is seldom found in health education. This paper reports the findings from pilot testing a simulated training program in interprofessional student teams. Four teams each comprising one medical, nursing, and intensive nursing student (n = 12), were exposed to two simulation scenarios twice. Focus groups were used to evaluate the program. The findings suggest that the students were satisfied with the program, but some of the videos and simulation exercises could be more realistic and more in accordance with each other. Generally they wanted more interprofessional team training, and had learned a lot about their own team performance, personal reactions and lack of certain competencies. Involving students in interprofessional team training seem to be more likely to enhance their learning process. The students' struggles with roles, competence and team skills underline the need for more focus on combining professional knowledge learning with team training.

Teamwork Assessment in Internal Medicine: A Systematic Review of Validity Evidence and Outcomes

“…Third, this review included only quantitative measurement tools; however, qualitative studies provide valuable frameworks for understanding team behaviors and processes 28,229,230 that are essential to the development of meaningful assessment tools. A synthesis of findings from the qualitative literature on teamwork would be a useful next step.…”

Integrating Interprofessional Education and Simulation in Community Health: Evaluation of a Practice-based Student Clinic

“…Our study design addressed the need outlined in the Garling Report (Garling 2008) to provide these clients with effective holistic client centred care by deliberately developing eight simulation scenarios selected from actual cases of social care clients with complex chronic conditions. More specifically, our project combined IPE with scenario-based education (SBE) and as such our results might be more closely compared with more recent studies of IPE programs developed by HEPS which have similarly utilised SBE to deliver IPE programs for undergraduates (Shrader et al 2013, Kyrkjebo et al 2006, Vyas et al 2012, Wamsley et al 2012, and Kilminster et al 2004. Our study was different in respect of the use of volunteer SCs, the rural setting in community health, and the pairing of different disciplines to collaborate in a simulated intake interview.…”

“…Simulation techniques immerse students in experiences, mimic real practice and have been shown to promote collaboration and improve patient safety (Cleland et al 2009, Kyrkjebo et al 2006, and Murdoch et al 2013. Recent reports of combined IPE/simulation team training using high fidelity mannequins (Shrader et al 2013), standardised patients (Wamsley et al 2012), or hybrid simulations (Shrader et al 2013, Kilminster et al 2004, and Vyas et al 2012 suggest outcomes include improved understanding of roles of other professionals and increased awareness of the importance of interprofessional communication for patient safety.…”

Nursing Faculty's Needs of Knowledge, Beliefs, and Readiness to Implement Interprofessional Education in their Teaching: An Exploratory Study

“…Role clarification (Solomon et al, 2010), enhancement of problem solving skills and clinical decision-making (Lapkin, Levett-Jones, & Gilligan, 2013), increased quality of care (Wilcock, Janes, & Chambers, 2009), and improved patient safety (Anderson, Thorpe, Heney, & Petersen, 2009;Kyrkjebø et al, 2006) have been documented. IPE is correlated with positive changes in "attitudes, awareness, and knowledge" among health sciences students (Reeves et al, 2011, p. 171).…”

“…The rise of interest in interprofessional practice and education is shared by health educators in Canada (Bilodeau, Dubois, & Pepin, 2013;D'Amour & Oandasan, 2005;Gilbert, 2005a;Pfaff, Baxter, Jack, & Ploeg, 2013), the United Kingdom (Barr & Low, 2013;Barr, Helme, & D'Avray, 2011;Lewy, 2010;Reeves, Perrier, Golman, Freeth, & Zwarenstein, 2013), the United States of America (Lash et al, 2014), and Norway (Kyrkjebø, Brattebø, & Smith-Strøm, 2006). …”