Team Training for Interprofessional Insight, Networking and Guidance (T2IPING) points: a study protocol

Effective teamwork remains a crucial component in providing high-quality care to patients in today’s complex healthcare environment. A prevalent ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality among professions, however, impedes reliable team function in the clinical setting. More importantly, its corrosive influence extends to health professional students who model the ineffective behaviour as they learn from practicing clinicians. Simulation-based training (SBT) of health professional students in team-based competencies recognized to improve performance could potentially mitigate such negative influences. This quasi-experimental prospective study will evaluate the effectiveness and impact of incorporating a multi-year, health science centre-wide SBT curriculum for interprofessional student teams. It targets health professional students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health at Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans. The intervention will teach interprofessional student teams key team-based competencies for highly reliable team behaviour using SBT. The study will use the Kirkpatrick framework to evaluate training effectiveness. Primary outcomes will focus on the impact of the training on immediate improvements in team-based skills and attitudes (Level 2). Secondary outcomes include students’ perception of the SBT (Level 1), its immediate impact on attitudes towards interprofessional education (Level 2) and its impact on team-based attitudes over time (Level 3).The Institutional Review Board at LSU Health New Orleans approved this research as part of an exempt protocol with a waiver of documentation of informed consent due to its educational nature. The research description for participants provides information on the nature of the project, privacy, dissemination of results and opting out of the research.

Team Training for Interprofessional Insight, Networking and Guidance (T2IPING) points: a study protocol

Effective teamwork remains a crucial component in providing high-quality care to patients in today’s complex healthcare environment. A prevalent ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality among professions, however, impedes reliable team function in the clinical setting. More importantly, its corrosive influence extends to health professional students who model the ineffective behaviour as they learn from practicing clinicians. Simulation-based training (SBT) of health professional students in team-based competencies recognized to improve performance could potentially mitigate such negative influences. This quasi-experimental prospective study will evaluate the effectiveness and impact of incorporating a multi-year, health science centre-wide SBT curriculum for interprofessional student teams. It targets health professional students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health at Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans. The intervention will teach interprofessional student teams key team-based competencies for highly reliable team behaviour using SBT. The study will use the Kirkpatrick framework to evaluate training effectiveness. Primary outcomes will focus on the impact of the training on immediate improvements in team-based skills and attitudes (Level 2). Secondary outcomes include students’ perception of the SBT (Level 1), its immediate impact on attitudes towards interprofessional education (Level 2) and its impact on team-based attitudes over time (Level 3).The Institutional Review Board at LSU Health New Orleans approved this research as part of an exempt protocol with a waiver of documentation of informed consent due to its educational nature. The research description for participants provides information on the nature of the project, privacy, dissemination of results and opting out of the research.

An Inter-University Virtual Geriatric Case Competition to Build Interprofessional Collaboration Skills

Developing positive learning experiences in team-based geriatric care is challenging. This presentation will highlight an inter-University geriatric case competition for developing interprofessional competencies in health professional students sponsored by the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Programs at Saint Louis University and the University of Minnesota. The virtual competition involved teams of 4-5 undergraduate and graduate students from multiple health professions who designed a comprehensive care plan using a simulated complex geriatric patient case. Students were assigned to an interprofessional team with a faculty or community expert coach, attended an orientation, and developed a 20-minute recorded presentation. A panel of judges rated team presentations using a scoring rubric based on the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. Local competitions included a first and semi-final round, with the winning teams presenting at the inter-university competition held via live videoconferencing that involved a question-and-answer session. Prizes were given to the top teams. Students, coaches, and judges completed evaluation surveys focused on satisfaction with the competition format/procedures and achievement of interprofessional competencies. Twenty-one teams and 117 students from 12 disciplines participated. Team scores ranged from 2.2 to 4.3 (overall mean 3.1) on a 1-5 scale. Judge, coach, and student evaluations were positive, indicating students learned valuable lessons in group dynamics, team-based care, and geriatric care. Most students (82%) preferred the virtual competition format or had no preference on format. The virtual case competition provided a positive, engaging experience to introduce health professional students to geriatric team-based care and develop their readiness for collaborative practice.

The Effects of a VR Teaching Tool on Understanding, Comfortability, Compassion, and Empathy of Students and Caregivers

Empathetic care giving is associated with improved patient satisfaction, compliance and outcomes; clinical competence, career satisfaction, and burnout reduction; as well as diminished medical errors and litigation claims. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown erosion in empathy and compassion across the health professions. Virtual reality shows promise as a teaching tool to combat this decline as it has been dubbed the ultimate empathy machine, allowing users to vividly and viscerally experience any situation from any perspective. Embodied Labs allows users to virtually walk in the shoes of different patients, experiencing symptoms, family dynamics, support networks and various components of the health care systems. We have demonstrated that the high level of immersion and presence afforded by these virtual labs are effective pedagogical tools to increase understanding, comfortability, compassion and empathy within various populations including informal caregivers, high school students, health professional students and medical students.

Rationale and design of the Health Professional Students at the University of Illinois Chicago (HOLISTIC) Cohort Study

Objectives: The objectives of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study are to establish a 3-year prospective cohort study that characterizes the health of students within and across health professional education programs during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, implement an interprofessional student research team, and inform initiatives to improve student health. This report describes the rationale and design of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study, including recruitment strategy, survey development, data management, and descriptive statistics of the first wave of study participants. Methods: An interprofessional student research team was formed to continuously inform study design. The first wave of recruitment was conducted from April 14, 2021 to May 5, 2021 across seven health science colleges (applied health, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, social work) at the University of Illinois Chicago in Chicago, IL. Eligible students were sent an invitation via email to complete an online survey after providing electronic informed consent. The online survey was based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019 survey and the 2014 World Health Organization Report of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group Questionnaire. Two additional recruitment waves are planned in the Spring 2022 and Spring 2023; follow-up of participants previously enrolled will occur during these second and third recruitment waves. Results: Of 5,118 students invited to participate in the first wave, 553 (10.8%) completed the survey and includes participants from all seven health science colleges. The average age of participants is 27.3 years, 435 (78.8%) identify as female, and 137 (24.8%) identify as an underrepresented minority. Overall, 465 (84.6%) participants reported being currently employed for wages. Just over half (51%) reported no days with poor physical health within a month but only 11.2% reported no days with poor mental health within a month. Nearly one in ten (9.4%) reported having ever had a positive test for COVID-19. Conclusion: The HOLISTIC Cohort Study of health professional students across seven health science colleges has completed the first of three waves of enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the first wave of study participants, increased attention to supporting the mental and physical health of health professional students is needed.