Healthcare students interprofessional critical event/disaster response course

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Emergency Preparedness
• Interprofessional Learning

Background:

• Disasters highlight the need for critical event training in healthcare.
• Interprofessional collaboration is essential as no single discipline operates in isolation.
• A need exists for integrated training curricula across healthcare professions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement an interprofessional learning curriculum for critical event response.
• To merge existing competencies for critical event response with interprofessional education standards.
• To evaluate the impact of interprofessional training on student knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Developed an interdisciplinary course for nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and medicine students.
• Students completed online didactic modules followed by a 4-hour synchronous simulation experience.
• The simulation included high-fidelity resuscitation, decontamination, and mass casualty triage scenarios.

Main Results:

• 402 senior students participated, showing improved team participation values and critical event knowledge.
• 94% of participants reported acquiring useful skills, with positive qualitative feedback on interprofessional teamwork.
• Students demonstrated enhanced knowledge and attitudes regarding critical event response through interprofessional instruction.

Conclusions:

• Interprofessional critical event response training effectively improves student knowledge and attitudes.
• Students highly value interprofessional experiences for developing teamwork and communication skills.
• Further research is needed to confirm sustained improvements and clinical outcome benefits.