Dyspnea in a Hospitalized Patient: Using Simulation to Introduce Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Concepts

Area of Science:

• Healthcare education
• Medical simulation
• Teamwork and communication

Background:

• Effective team communication is critical for reducing patient care errors.
• A simulation case scenario based on TeamSTEPPS concepts was developed for interprofessional teamwork training.
• The target audience includes graduating medical, physician assistant, nursing, and early clinical pharmacy students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a simulation-based interprofessional teamwork training resource.
• To enhance learners' self-efficacy in implementing team skills within an interprofessional setting.

Main Methods:

• Learners were grouped by professional training for team-based activities.
• Faculty received training on TeamSTEPPS concepts and interprofessional facilitation.
• A simulation scenario involved a standardized patient or manikin presenting with dyspnea in a hospital setting.

Main Results:

• Over 1,475 students trained in the last 5 years.
• Learner evaluations of the simulation resource were favorable.
• The simulation demonstrated equivalent outcomes to other scenarios in the workshop series.

Conclusions:

• The simulation experience promotes interprofessional education.
• It increases learner self-efficacy in applying team skills.
• It prepares students for effective interprofessional collaboration.