Interprofessional Co-Debriefing in Simulation-Role Modeling Collaboration: A Qualitative Study

Effective debriefing is a key element of simulation-based learning, providing an opportunity to facilitate critical reflection and promote constructive conversations, with generalization of the learning experience to real-life health care and collaborative practice. Co-debriefing, meaning a debrief involving more than 1 simulation facilitator, has potential benefits as well as challenges. Interprofessional co-debriefing, where 2 or more members of different professional groups debrief together, has not yet been fully explored in the literature.

A qualitative approach was used to explore the benefits and challenges of interprofessional co-debriefing from a simulation faculty perspective. Individual semistructured interviews were recorded and transcribed, with data analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Ten interviews were conducted with health care professionals in Christchurch, New Zealand, who co-debrief simulation with faculty from other professions. Three major themes were identified: 1. Developing Debriefers-simulation faculty require opportunities to develop interprofessional co-debriefing skills; 2. Teaming and Collaboration-bringing co-debriefing teams together, role modeling interprofessional collaboration; 3. Logistics and Sustainability-top-down institutional/bottom-up champion support is required to overcome logistical barriers of bringing together multiple professional groups . The reported benefits and challenges of interprofessional co-debriefing were linked to these themes.

This interprofessional group of simulation debriefers identified a number of benefits to interprofessional co-debriefing, along with several challenges. Debriefers require support to develop as role models of interprofessional collaboration. Peer mentoring and faculty development opportunities, along with consideration of the logistics that make this model of debriefing sustainable are needed for this nascent field of simulation-based education practice to evolve and mature.