Attitudes of Dental Hygiene and Nursing Students Following a Simulation Activity

Purpose: Interprofessional education (IPE) activities assist health care professionals outside of dentistry learn about the importance of oral care and its connection to overall health, while also encouraging the integration of dental hygienists into primary health care teams. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a simulation activity on dental hygiene and nursing students' attitudes about interprofessional collaboration (IPC).Methods: Second-year dental hygiene (n=35) and nursing students (n=45) from a community college in the Midwestern United States were recruited to participate via e-mail. Participants completed an online module about oral care and ventilator-associated pneumonia followed by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competency Self-Assessment Survey version 3 prior to participating in an IPE simulation activity. The IPEC survey measures two domains: interprofessional interaction and interprofessional values. Following the simulation activity, participants completed the survey again. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test compared pre/post-survey responses.Results: A total of 61 students completed the pre-IPE survey (73%; dental hygiene: n= 29, nursing: n=32); and a total of 38 students (47%) completed the post-IPE survey. Ten post-IPE surveys were excluded in the final analysis (dental hygiene: n=15, nursing: n=13). A significant difference was found between pre-IPE and post-IPE scores for the interprofessional interaction domain (p<.001). No difference was found for the interprofessional values domain (p<.18)Conclusion: Participants had a high regard for IPC and their attitudes improved following the simulation activity. Open-ended responses indicated an increase in knowledge of the importance of IPC and a heightened awareness of professional roles and responsibilities. Interprofessional activities are needed across the health professions curricula to provide future collaboration and quality patient care.