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Learning Objective #1: identify the value of an interdisciplinary collaboraive relationshipand identify opportunities that promote interdisciplinary collaborative education.

Learning Objective #2: recognize simulation as an approach to enhance interdisciplinary collaborative relationship.

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The purposes of this study were to initiate an interdisciplinary collaborative relationship, analyze students' perceptions of this relationship and determine the usefulness of an interdisciplinary collaborative approach using simulation. A pre-test/post-test design was used. A convenience sample of third year medical students and fourth year nursing students from a large urban city university completed 82 pre-tests and 40 post-tests. Demographics were obtained to describe the sample. The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Towards Physician-Nurse Collaboration, a 15 item Likert-type scale, was used to obtain students' perceptions on collaboration (Hojat, et al, 1999). Open-ended questions provided qualitative data, which gave meaning to the quantitative findings. Medical and nursing students worked together as a team in a "mock code" scenario. Data were collected prior to and again after the simulation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic data of the sample. Reliabilities were established on the instrument pre and post-testing ranging from r=0.84 to 0.96. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect differences between medical and nursing students' pre/post-test scores. Anecdotal data were examined using a quasi-statistical analysis with manifest content analysis. Nursing students had higher pre-test scores than the medical students reflecting a more positive attitude towards collaboration. There was an increase in medical students' mean post-test scores reflecting a more positive attitude towards collaboration. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were seen in medical students' post-test scores for two factors, collaboration and nursing autonomy. Qualitative data analysis identified common themes: communication, teamwork and patient outcomes. The nursing students' perceptions became more collaborative after the experience. Both medical and nursing students described the experience as a "wonderful learning experience," one that should be continued. Although there were limitations associated with this study, hopefully this project acts as a catalyst for further educational opportunities and research in collaborative interdisciplinary education using simulation.