Simulation as a means to foster collaborative interdisciplinary education

The purpose of this study was multifaceted: to initiate an interdisciplinary collaborative relationship between nursing and medical students; to determine the usefulness of an interdisciplinary approach using simulations as an educational strategy; and to analyze students' perceptions of collaboration. A pre/posttest design was used to assess students' perceptions of interdisciplinary collaboration with a mock code experience using a high-fidelity simulator. Open-ended questions provided another perspective of interdisciplinary collaboration. A convenience sample of fourth-year nursing students and third-year medical students from a large urban university participated in the study. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were seen in medical students' posttest scores for two factors, collaboration and nursing autonomy. The narrative responses revealed that nursing students' perceptions of the nurse-physician relationship became more collaborative after the simulation experience. Both medical and nursing students described the experience as one that should be continued.