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Simulation, Students, & the Military: An Unconventional IPE Collaboration

Sunday, 17 November 2013: 11:40 AM

Heather Anderson, MS, RN1
Teressa Moore, BS, RN2
Nicole Hall, FNP-C, RN2
(1)College of Nursing, Health, & Human Services, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
(2)College of Nursing, Health & Human Services, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify two challenges of providing care during a mock disaster mass casualty exercise.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to illustrate the relationship between interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) as it relates to a mock disaster simulation.

The importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and community preparedness during a disaster is well established. The Interprofessional Education Collaboration (IPEC) Core Competencies and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Future of Nursing: Focus on Education recommendations were used in a summer 2012, large-scale interprofessional education (IPE) activity that featured a simulated aircraft crash with multiple injuries and casualties.  This senior-level community health nursing course mock disaster was designed to meet curriculum requirements for disaster preparedness. The exercise provided the practitioners and student practitioners of various professions with experience in disaster response processes.

The qualitative pilot study included low-fidelity simulation, high-fidelity simulation, live actors, Homeland Security, Airport Authority, Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF), National Guard, paramedic students, physician assistant (PA) students, the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC), and a Critical Incident Stress Management Team. Nursing students were briefed on the Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) method. A pre-simulation brief and post-simulation de-briefing was held for all participants. A ten question Likert-type post-simulation evaluation was administered to nursing students.

Post simulation nursing students’ evaluations revealed the experience provided:  a.) independent critical thinking, b.) active participation as interprofessional team member, and c.) an enhanced knowledge of roles in disaster response processes. The majority of nursing students surveyed reported the collaborative environment of the mock disaster provided an opportunity to connect previous classroom and clinical learning and apply learning theory to practice. Feedback from participants included the value of participation, discipline and interdiscipline lessons learned, and requests to participate in future exercises.

This exercise provided a bridge between interprofessional education and interprofessional practice and provided student practitioners experience in disaster response processes and allowed them to practice decision-making skills.  Lessons learned were incorporated into a Fall 2012 mock disaster simulation. 

News Coverage:

http://www.181iw.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123321777

http://mywabashvalley.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=257372

http://tribstar.com/local/x1146344859/Emergency-preparedness

http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/mock-disaster-gives-students-hands-on-training

See more of: Disaster Preparedness Studies and Collaboration Models
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Clinical Sessions