Interprofessional Simulation for Nursing and Paramedicine Students

Abstract

Background: Interprofessional simulations are becoming an important aspect of learning for nursing students. Still, the execution of these types of simulations can prove challenging. Problem: Educational institutions often struggle to access faculties from different health care fields for interprofessional simulations. There is limited literature on operationalizing and implementing interprofessional simulations related to scenarios in the community, which makes creating these simulations challenging. Approach: Nursing and paramedicine educators from a university and a community college collaborated on a simulation centered on the management of immunization anaphylaxis in the community. Outcomes: Feedback from facilitators and students was positive. Both disciplines agreed that collaborative learning significantly enhanced role clarification, team functioning, conflict resolution, collaboration, and communication skills with team members. Challenges included coordinating schedules, space, and training of facilitators. Conclusions: Collaborating with other educational institutions to establish an interprofessional simulation can be complex, but the benefits significantly outweighed the challenges.