My Throat is Itchy! An In-situ Simulation for Interprofessional Healthcare Education

In-situ simulation occurs in the clinical environment. This allows healthcare providers greater access to the educational session while providing the opportunity to test systems or protocols in place. Anaphylaxis is a rare and life-threatening event. As such, many healthcare providers are uncomfortable managing it. The use of simulation as an educational methodology allows the learners to practice rare, high-risk scenarios in a low-risk environment. There is no negative impact to an actual patient when an in-situ simulation education session is provided. Usually there are positive results due to increased staff awareness and improved process. In the spring of 2015, stakeholders at the outpatient antibiotic therapy program (OPAT) at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) approached the nurse educator team to develop an education session around anaphylaxis management. The nurse educators chose to design and implement an in-situ simulation scenario involving the inter-professional clinic team. Through the use of inter-professional in-situ simulation the team was able to clarify roles, identify equipment issues and rectify those issues as this technical report describes.