Student Expectations and Outcomes in Virtual vs. In-Person Interprofessional Simulations: A Qualitative Analysis

Background: Health-related programs frequently integrate interprofessional education (IPE) into their training. The COVID-19 pandemic transitioned many IPE programs online, making it essential to assess student expectations and perceived learning outcomes across virtual simulations and in-person settings. Methods: This qualitative study compared student expectations and self-reported outcomes across in-person and virtual case scenarios at a Texas health science center. Responses to open-ended questions from two data collection periods were analyzed using inductive coding and thematic analysis. Results: Students from nursing, medicine, dentistry, public health, and informatics participated in each group. Three major themes emerged from this study: communication, teamwork, and role identification, with self-development and professionalism as major subthemes. For communication, students often described a desire for increased simulations to "practice with interprofessional communication". Teamwork was the second theme identified, with students discussing the significance of effective teamwork, such as, "It is a good practice to work together, listen to each other, and achieve a common goal of patients getting better". Additionally, students expressed a desire to better understand the roles of other healthcare professionals across different settings. Conclusions: Realistic IPE simulations may help students build confidence in their team roles while understanding other health professions. To strengthen curriculum design, faculty should include student expectations and perceived outcomes from IPE activities. A limitation of this study is the reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce response bias and the potential variability in student experiences.