Changes in Student Perceptions after Participating in a High-Fidelity Simulation-Based Interprofessional Education...

This study aimed to assess the impact of a high-fidelity simulation interprofessional education (IPE) activity at a large, historically Black university (HBU) on perceptions of IPE.

Student participants represented various allied health care professions; the majority were female and enrolled in the pharmacy professional program. Health administration, nutrition and dietetics, nursing, respiratory therapy, and clinical lab science programs were also represented.

Participants were randomly assigned to IPE teams of 6-7 individuals. The 1-day activity transpired at a high-fidelity simulation facility and included a pre-briefing, simulated scenario with high-fidelity mannequins, and a faculty-guided video-assisted debriefing session. The patient scenario was designed by subject area faculty experts and featured an adult patient on hemodialysis. Participants completed pre and post-activity questionnaires that included the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) instrument.

Participants completed pre (n=107) and post-activity (n=81) questionnaires. There was a significant increase from the pre-event (M=3.90, SD 0.91) and post-event score (M=4.22, SD 0.84) for the SPICE-R item regarding understanding "the roles of other professionals within the interdisciplinary team"; t(186)= -2.471, p=0.01. The SPICE-R item score for "health professionals should collaborate in teams" also significantly increased from the pre-event (M=4.28, SD 0.80) to the post-event (M=4.53, SD 0.73); t(186)= -2.209, p=0.03.

Participation in a 1-day high-fidelity simulation-based IPE activity at a HBU has the potential to positively change students' perceptions of IPE. Future studies should consider the impact of IPE on perceptions of diversity.