Technology-enhanced interprofessional simulation in higher education healthcare training

Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares students from different health professions to work together in complex healthcare systems worldwide. Although widely valued, integrating IPE into discipline-bound health sciences curricula remains difficult, with barriers limiting meaningful interprofessional learning experience. Simulation-based education (SBE) addresses some challenges by providing risk-free environments to practice collaborative clinical skills and decision-making. However, gaps remain in adopting simulation-based IPE in higher education institutions.

This study explored the experiences of management and lecturers adopting technology-enhanced interprofessional simulation (TEIPS) within the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS).

This study was conducted in the FHS of a higher education institution based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and contextual design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively sampled FHS management and lecturers involved in SBE. Data were transcribed and analysed using the Matrix Building Framework approach.

TEIPS helps bridge limitations in traditional IPE by enabling personalised feedback, supporting measurable teamwork behaviours and creating environments where purposeful interdependence is essential for learning.

TEIPS functions most effectively in a curriculum-embedded ecosystem supported by strong institutional leadership, sustained resources and structured faculty development initiatives.

This study addresses critical gaps in educator capacity building and the lack of practice-informed approaches to integrating digital innovations into IPE. It shows how purposeful interdependence, sustained faculty development and curriculum integration enable TEIPS as a measurable, sustainable and equity-enhancing IPE approach in diverse contexts in varied contexts.