Piloting an Interprofessional Super Simulation Day with Optometry, Physician Assistant, Pharmacy, and Nursing Students

Background:
The future of healthcare education includes the integration of interprofessional instruction and experiences to ensure all graduates are prepared to work in the collaborative, patient-centered environments of today’s healthcare system. Marshall B. Ketchum University piloted its first interprofessional education (IPE) patient simulation exercise involving approximately 200 students from OD, PA, PharmD, and RN programs. The purpose of the simulation was to allow students to apply the interprofessional skills gained during their education, and to formally evaluate their acquisition of the four main IPE core competencies; values/ethics for interprofessional practice, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork.

Methods:
Students were divided into small groups, each having representation from the four health professions, and given 90 minutes to conduct a thorough evaluation of a standardized patient and develop a comprehensive, patient-centered, and management plan. Two standardized cases were developed to facilitate medical and optometric examinations and illustrate scope of practice, communication, and treatment perspectives from optometry, PA, pharmacy, and nursing standpoints. A faculty member facilitated each patient encounter and used detailed rubrics to assess each of the four IPE competencies. A debriefing session immediately followed.

Results:
All groups achieved a score of “satisfactory” or “excellent” in all four IPE core competencies. The percentage of groups scoring excellent/satisfactory for each competency were: Values and ethics for interprofessional practice: 55%/45%, Roles and responsibilities: 49%/51%, Interprofessional communication: 51%/49%, and Teams and teamwork: 52%/48%.

Conclusion:
The cohort met our expectations of “satisfactory” or above in each of the four IPE competencies. Specific individuals stood out as either being exceptionally prepared or as needing improvement in some areas. Based on observations and feedback, several changes are slated for next year’s IPE Super Simulation. These include changes to the rubric to allow for more variation in scoring and to more easily identify individual students needing remediation. There is significant value in being able to formally assess specific interprofessional skills. The results of these types of IPE simulations could be used to identify gaps in knowledge or skill and make necessary adjustments to curriculum or course content to enhance IPE instruction and preparedness of all graduates.