Undergraduate cardiac arrest team training

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Interprofessional Healthcare Training
• Simulation in Healthcare

Background:

• Traditional health profession education isolates students by discipline.
• Graduates are expected to function effectively in interprofessional healthcare teams.
• A disconnect exists between educational structure and clinical practice demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of interdisciplinary team-based (ITB) versus discipline-based (DB) learning.
• To assess knowledge and subjective outcomes in health profession trainees.
• To compare learning methods during a simulated cardiac arrest scenario.

Main Methods:

• A randomized trial involving radiologic science, physician assistant, and nursing students.
• Trainees were assigned to either ITB or DB learning groups.
• The First 5 Minutes Curriculum was used, with assessments before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Knowledge improvement was significantly greater in the ITB group compared to the DB group (p=0.014).
• Participants overwhelmingly found interdisciplinary learning valuable.
• A strong preference for integrating more interdisciplinary learning opportunities was reported.

Conclusions:

• Interdisciplinary team-based education shows promise in enhancing trainee knowledge.
• ITB learning was subjectively preferred by participants over DB learning.
• This pilot study suggests ITB education is beneficial for preparing students for collaborative healthcare.