Stroke Simulation Activity: A Standardized Patient Case for Interprofessional Student Learning.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Patient Care Improvement

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for enhancing collaborative practice and patient care.
• Health professions curricula increasingly integrate IPE to prepare students for teamwork.
• Effective IPE strategies are needed to foster interprofessional competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement an interprofessional stroke simulation for IPE-naive students.
• To evaluate the impact of the simulation on students' interprofessional development.
• To assess changes in students' self-assessed interprofessional competencies and values.

Main Methods:

• Developed an interprofessional stroke simulation involving standardized patients and multiple health professions programs.
• Administered the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Self-Assessment tool pre- and post-simulation.
• Collected and analyzed qualitative data from student reflective comments.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in students' self-assessed interprofessional interaction and values (p < .0001).
• Qualitative reflections indicated enhanced understanding of collaboration, leadership, and communication.
• Students gained insights into the roles of different healthcare professions.

Conclusions:

• The interprofessional stroke simulation effectively facilitated the development of interprofessional competencies.
• Quantitative and qualitative data support the simulation's positive impact on student learning.
• IPE activities like this simulation are vital for preparing future healthcare professionals.