Utilizing Standardized Patients and High-Fidelity Simulation to Promote Interdisciplinary Communication

Changes in health care practices, patient outcomes, and advances in technology have brought about a radical need for restructuring health care education. Individuals entering health careers today have been involved in the digital age since infancy. Traditional teaching methods need to be augmented with today’s technology to accommodate the learning styles of this generation. Students need to be taught in a way that will prepare them to perform in the changing health care environment.

Miscommunication has been linked to medical errors and in trauma situations these errors have an increased risk of becoming fatal. It is imperative for patient safety that effective team communication occurs. Paramedic and nursing students alike require the ability to perform during stressful situations from both the medical and psychological aspect of care.

Professors from the areas of Nursing and Emergency Medical Services hosted an interdisciplinary mass causality training exercise. The college partnered with high school students who have identified interest in health professions, a local fire department and a local towing company to create a realistic automobile accident with over 20 patients exhibiting multiple traumatic injuries. The simulation began when a driver, distracted by texting, missed a stop sign and drove into a busy intersection, hitting several pedestrians and other motor vehicles in the process. Over 50 Paramedic and Nursing students participated in the exercise utilizing disaster management skills.

The event created an ongoing collaboration between disciplines at the college, and bridged the gap between practice and education through use of simulation (high fidelity simulators and scripted patients), while offering innovative ways to teach our next generation of health care responders. The interdisciplinary approach to education will be invaluable to the students and faculty as they gained knowledge of each discipline.

This study utilized standardized patients and high fidelity simulation to promote knowledge, skills, and attitudes of team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication in a controlled setting during a disaster.

QSEN was used as a framework for the study which focused on teamwork/collaboration, patient-centered care, and safety. A test retest format was performed utilizing the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, 2017) TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire along with a post-simulation reflection paper identifying themes of participants’ attitudes.