Interprofessional ethics education through a simulation focused on collective moral distress

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Bioethics
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Healthcare clinicians require expertise in organ donation processes and communication with donor families.
• Complex ethical issues, including brain death and organ donation, necessitate clinician resiliency.
• Moral distress is a significant concern for healthcare professionals in end-of-life care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an ethics-oriented interprofessional education (IPE) initiative.
• To enhance knowledge of the organ donation process and associated ethical issues.
• To implement IPE strategies for decreasing moral distress and fostering moral resiliency.

Main Methods:

• An ethics-oriented interprofessional education (IPE) initiative was developed and implemented.
• The IPE program focused on organ donation, clinical ethics, and interprofessional teamwork.
• 127 medical students and student nurses were evaluated using three instruments before and after the IPE.

Main Results:

• Significant gains were observed in student understanding of professional roles and interprofessional teamwork.
• Student appreciation for interprofessional collaboration increased.
• Facilitated debriefing led to a decrease in student moral distress.

Conclusions:

• The ethics-oriented IPE effectively improved interprofessional understanding and teamwork in organ donation contexts.
• The initiative successfully reduced moral distress among participating students.
• This innovative IPE model integrates clinical ethics, teamwork, and moral resiliency training for healthcare trainees.