S. Joseph1, D. Goodwin3, E. Gully3, I. Okwuwa2, S. Cannon3, S. Joseph1 1Texas Tech University Health Sciences,Department Of Surgery,Odessa, TX, USA 2Texas Tech University Health Sciences,Department Of Family Medicine,Odessa, TX, USA 3Texas Tech University Health Sciences,Department Of Nursing,Odessa, TX, USA
Introduction:
In 2005 the Joint Commission estimated that poor communication was the primary cause of 65% of hospital sentinel events between 1995-2004. When these events are analyzed, poor communication and failure of the surgical team are the most common underlying cause. While the emphasis within the hospital has been on teamwork and communication, medical school education has not adapted these techniques. This has led to a number of students never working in multidisciplinary teams and student dissatisfaction.
Methods:
We developed an interprofessional curriculum for medical students, PA students, and nursing students to help promote communication and teamwork in simulated surgical scenarios. Students are briefed prior to simulation and teams are formed. The team is allowed to spend some time interacting and developing rapport. Nursing students are introduced to the clinical scenario and allowed to assess prior to calling for the medical and PA students. The team is allowed to manage the clinical scenario for 15 minutes. The scenarios are recorded and monitored by faculty. After completion of the scenario debriefing and film review is done with faculty insight. Circular evaluation and team dynamics are also used to encourage student engagement. After completion of the curriculum, the students are surveyed on the effectiveness of the team dynamics as well as their perceptions of team training. Surgical scenarios are chosen from cases the students have been exposed to during their surgical rotation.
Results:
Since implementation 51 students have participated. Of all participants 66% have shown growth and improvement on post-curriculum survey. 100% of participants believe the curriculum was educational and met their needs. 20% of students have requested to repeat the curriculum. Amongst nursing students the majority felt better equipped to work in a surgical setting and felt comfortable to speak up during sentinel events. Medical students showed the greatest decline in their abilities when faced with moral and ethical scenarios. The students felt undertrained to deal with these scenarios during their non-clinical years of medical school.
Conclusion:
This data indicated that formalized communication training utilizing simulation scenarios enhances teamwork amongst students. Furthermore, early training of students allows for the fundamental aspects of communication and teamwork prior to entrance into clinical practice.
By exposing students to interprofessional education, we have shown that student satisfaction and perceptions of learning have significantly improved. Finally, we have identified knowledge gaps within medical student education that can be addressed during their clinical years and prepare them for medical practice.
