Interprofessional education with ultrasound simulation: Diabetes and pregnancy

Interprofessional education (IPE) workshop on “Diabetes and pregnancy” was conducted to improve knowledge and effective communication skills required to address important clinical issues in the management of diabetes in pregnancy. Interprofessional faculty from various disciplines developed evidence based educational material, learner specific objectives for each of the 12 clinical simulation stations, and multiple-choice items for pre- and post-test knowledge/skills assessment. Four IPE faculty leaders facilitated interaction among 58 physicians from 5 residency programs (obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, emergency medicine, radiology and pediatrics), 27 nursing and 4 ultrasound technology students in the ultrasound simulation session. Learners received most updated evidence-based practice materials related to the ultrasound assessment of diabetes in pregnancy. Different ultrasound simulators were used to illustrate the first trimester pregnancy complications (e.g. threatened, missed abortion, and enlarged yolk sac), fetal anomalies (e.g. cardiac and neural tube defects) and pregnancy complications associated with diabetes (e.g. IUGR, macrosomia, and polyhydramnios macrosomia). Educational goals and objectives were strategically customized and learner group specific. Each learner group completed a pre- and post-encounter quiz, and pre- and post-session Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire. Significant improvement in knowledge and skills on the ultrasound assessment of pregnant patients with diabetes was noted after completion of the ultrasound simulation workshop. The average pre- and post-IPE activity Teamwork and Collaboration RIPLS sub-scale scores were calculated and compared.