Leveraging Medical Simulation for Faculty Development in Interprofessional Education: A Pilot Study

This mixed-methods pilot study aimed to determine the faculty perceptions and knowledge of interprofessional education (IPE) before and after a faculty development program at a health sciences campus that used medical simulation as the pedagogy. Thirty health professions faculty completed a pre- and post-survey instrument to evaluate their understanding and perceptions of IPE. The survey data were analyzed using paired t-tests. Participants contributed post-training to a semi-structured focus group that used thematic analysis. The pilot study findings included a statistically significant increase in IPE knowledge and perceptions by the participating faculty, corroborated by the focus group responses. The focus group responses emphasized the use of IPE: to teach soft skills in communication to students, to create a new culture of healthcare professionals, to discuss role biases and assumptions, and to create of a new healthcare team which included non-caregivers.