An interprofessional simulation to develop communication skills in health professional students

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Interprofessional Education

Background:

• Communication and teamwork skills are crucial for patient care but are underrepresented in healthcare curricula.
• Chapman University School of Pharmacy developed a virtual simulation to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a virtual simulation on student pharmacists' and medical residents' awareness and self-reported competence in communication and collaboration.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of simulation in developing essential interprofessional skills.

Main Methods:

• Student pharmacists and medical residents engaged in a virtual simulation practicing discharge recommendations to a physician.
• Participants completed pre- and post-surveys assessing four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) sub-competencies (two communication, two teamwork).
• Qualitative data from student takeaways were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• All 67 participants showed increased self-perceived competence in the four IPEC sub-competencies.
• 97% of respondents recommended the simulation for future students.
• Thematic analysis revealed four key themes of communication and teamwork strategies acquired.

Conclusions:

• The virtual simulation effectively enhanced collaborative communication and teamwork skills in challenging healthcare scenarios.
• The experience led to measurable improvements in communication and teamwork sub-competencies.
• The simulation provides an engaging and beneficial method for interprofessional skills development.