Teaching Oral Systemic Health Interprofessional Simulation and Case Study Experience
Methods : During the Fall 2013 and 2014, students and faculty from a College of Nursing, College of Dentistry and School of Medicine participated in interprofessional simulation experiences featuring standardized patients and a case study to develop their oral-systemic and IP competencies. The Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS)was selected to evaluate the degree to which students, using a pre-test/post-test approach, report a change in attitude about IP competencies following the IP learning experiences.
Results: In 2013, there was a statistically significant change in mean scores from pre-test to post-test in each of the six interprofessional competency domains measured by the ICCAS. These mean changes from pre to post were significant for all three student types. There were no significant differences in the magnitude of changein ICCAS survey scores among the different student types. Preliminary data for 2014, which will be finalized by October 2014, suggests similar results.
Conclusions & Implications: These findings suggest that the TOSH IP simulation and case study experience was similarly effective among all three student types in having a positive impact on students’ attitudes toward interprofessional competencies. Topics in which mean post-survey scores were lower are potential opportunities for curriculum refinements to further emphasize those competencies. A clinical approach appears to be an effective strategy for influencing the development of interprofessional competencies and improving students’ reported attitudes towards interprofessional collarboration.