Partnering for Patti: Shaping future healthcare teams through simulation-enhanced interprofessional education

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Simulation-enhanced interprofessional education (sim-IPE) is increasingly integrated into health curricula to prepare students for practice.
• The Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) developed a competency framework to guide interprofessional education (IPE) and foster interprofessional collaboration (IPC).
• The "Partnering for Patti" sim-IPE experience was designed for third-year nursing and respiratory therapy students to enhance knowledge of CIHC domains and IPC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the "Partnering for Patti" sim-IPE experience on student understanding of CIHC IPE domains.
• To assess whether student perceptions of their own and other professions were reframed by the sim-IPE intervention.
• To determine the overall value and effectiveness of this novel sim-IPE learning experience.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive mixed-methods design was employed for this cross-sectional study.
• Two data collection tools were utilized to gather information on participants' perceptions and feedback.
• The study focused on student perceptions of the learning experience and its outcomes.

Main Results:

• The majority of participants found the interprofessional education (IPE) learning experience to be valuable.
• Qualitative and quantitative data indicated a deepened appreciation for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among participants.
• Participants demonstrated an improved understanding of the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) IPE competency domains.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the value of "Partnering for Patti" as an innovative sim-IPE learning experience.
• While the extent to which objectives were met requires further clarification, the results strongly advocate for its continued integration.
• The sim-IPE approach effectively enhanced student appreciation for IPC and knowledge of CIHC domains.