Evaluating An Interprofessional Pediatrics Educational Module Using Simulation

BackgroundHigh-fidelity simulation (HFS) has been shown to be effective in health sciences education for practicing team approaches to managing complex care. Interprofessional (IP) collaboration contributes to patient well-being. This prospective study was conducted to evaluate an interprofessional pediatrics educational module using HFS.MethodsNursing and medical students (N = 96) attended one asthma exacerbation simulation and a second on sepsis. Performance of basic pediatric skills and team skills was evaluated using a checklist. Participants (N = 86) completed a survey regarding their confidence performing pediatric skills and their comfort with IP communication and collaboration. Fifty-three nursing students completed the scenarios in non-IP groups.ResultsTeam skills improved significantly for the IP groups between the two scenarios (p < .001), but not for the non-IP groups. Pediatric skills scores were lower than team scores in both sessions for all groups.ConclusionHFS may be a useful strategy to teach interprofessional teamwork in pediatrics.