Interprofessional working in acute care

Abstract

This narrative account exhibits our development of teaching praxis in the story of teaching innovation, and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities within IP learning in undergraduate education.

Simulation in the medical undergraduate curriculum to promote interprofessional collaboration for acute care: a systematic review

“…For example, at Queen's University, the Faculty of Health Sciences has implemented a ‘Patient Simulation Lab’ since 2005, and it is used by students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Rehabilitation Therapy 21. Similarly, at the University of Dundee, Scotland, a multidisciplinary Clinical Skills Centre hosts students from a range of undergraduate programmes,22 and the Medical University of South Carolina has a simulation centre for interprofessional training that is available to all of its colleges on campus 27. At Louisiana State University's Centre for Advanced Practice, a virtual operating room was set up and used in the study by Paig et al,28 to investigate the immediate impact of conducting interprofessional team training in the operating room on students' team-related attitudes and behaviours.…”

“…High-fidelity manikins were favoured for scenarios involving acutely unstable medical conditions, however, Ker et al 23 employed 12 standardised patients (SPs) in their simulated acute admitting ward. To complement simulation sessions, a number of studies also described additional approaches, including online self-directed learning materials,22 team building exercises,26 team projects involving the development of best practice protocols,26 video demonstration of exemplary teamwork,32 and didactic sessions covering principles of patient safety and communication skills 33…”

“…Four studies investigated type B outcomes: comprising student self-reported understanding of the patient's condition,24 self-reported confidence in performing cardiac resuscitation,21 self-reported acquisition of clinical skills,25 and self-reflections on the ability to integrate clinical knowledge and skills in a simulated environment, and to critically appraise the literature and evidence underpinning interprofessional care in acutely ill patients 22. Results for the first three learning outcomes were reported and were all positive, these being increased understanding, confidence and skill acquisition.…”

Preparation for practice

“…Kelly, Bennette, Foley and O’Flynn from Ireland describe preparing students for the team sport that is modern primary care, and use a particularly interesting range of assessment methods to ensure that the students got the message 1 . Similarly, Holland and colleagues from London describe a programme that makes sure their graduates will be able to function in an interprofessional health system, rather than remaining isolated within their discipline 2 . Ivory and colleagues from Australia confront the dilemma that population health is often perceived by students as less important than acute medicine, when in fact the growing burden of chronic disease that will dominate their careers can only by tackled at a population level 3 .…”

Mixing Pre-clinical and Clinical Medical Students in Full Patient Simulation: Impacts and Outcomes

“…Originally medical student simulation sessions were uni-professional. However, due to an increasing appreciation of the importance of interprofessional work and education, programmes have been developed encompassing students from allied healthcare professions such as midwifery and nursing (Holland et al 2013;Thomas, Reedy & Gill, 2014;Tofil et al, 2014). These sessions provide an effective means of developing communication skills between different team members, an important constituent to improving patient safety (Kennedy, 2001;Francis, 2013).…”