Abstract
Background: Medical emergencies are an inevitable occurrence in healthcare. Basic life support (BLS) skills are renewed every two years and there is often an infrequent amount of exposure to these situations which may lead to an overall lack of adeptness among hospital employees (Anderson et al., 2021). Multiple studies have found that the implementation of interprofessional simulation training enhances clinical reasoning, improves knowledge and skills, and strengthens team dynamics (D’Cunha et al., 2021; Shastri et al., 2021; Fox et al., 2020). Shrivastava et al., 2020 discovered a significant improvement of patient outcomes after a simulation-based training curriculum was implemented.
Methods: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the effects of supplementing traditional BLS training with interprofessional simulation training on staff members responsible for managing patients in a medical emergency. The sample was recruited from a rural hospital setting and included staff members who are responsible for responding to rapidly deteriorating patients and included registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), radiology technicians, laboratory technicians, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists, and respiratory technicians. Four different rapid response patient scenarios were presented in various departments of the hospital, and participants were asked to respond to each situation exactly as they would in real life. Once the scenario was completed, the participants were able to debrief as a group to identify strengths and weaknesses as well as discuss strategies for improvement. Immediately following the debrief, participants were asked to anonymously complete the post-intervention simulation effectiveness scale (SET) to measure the effectiveness of a simulated clinical experience (SCE) which included a Learning Subscale.
Results: There was a total of 22 staff members that completed the scenario and post-intervention SET. The participants strongly agreed with multiple items of the Learning Subscale with 90.9% for the item I was challenged in my thinking and decision-making skills followed by 86.4% with the items I developed a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the conditions in the SCE and Completing the SCE helped me understand classroom information better. Over half (68.2%) of the participants strongly agreed with the items I developed a better understanding of the medications that were in the SCE and I learned as much from observing my peers as I did when I was actively involved in caring for the simulated patient.
Conclusion: The majority of respondents strongly agreed to all questions in the Learning Subscale of the SET tool indicating that exposure to additional interprofessional simulation training in conjunction with traditional education methods can enhance staff competence in managing a patient in distress. Periodic use of similar simulated training sessions may help staff retain knowledge, increase interprofessional communication, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
Full reference list available in attached slide deck.
Additional reference:
Anderson, T. M., Secrest, K., Krein, S. L., Schildhouse, R., Guetterman, T. C., Harrod, M., Trumpower, B., Kronick, S. L., Pribble, J., Chan, P. S., & Nallamothu, B. K. (2021). Best practices for education and training of resuscitation teams for in-hospital cardiac arrest. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 14(2), e008587. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.121.008587
Sigma Membership
Iota Theta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Pilot/Exploratory Study
Keywords:
Interdisciplinary Education, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education, Simulations, Interprofessional Relations, Rural Hospitals
Recommended Citation
Simpler, Brandy L.; Chance, Kasey; and Smith, Jacquelyn, "Supplementing Traditional Learning With Interprofessional Simulation Training" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 108.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/108
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-27
Supplementing Traditional Learning With Interprofessional Simulation Training
Washington, DC, USA
Background: Medical emergencies are an inevitable occurrence in healthcare. Basic life support (BLS) skills are renewed every two years and there is often an infrequent amount of exposure to these situations which may lead to an overall lack of adeptness among hospital employees (Anderson et al., 2021). Multiple studies have found that the implementation of interprofessional simulation training enhances clinical reasoning, improves knowledge and skills, and strengthens team dynamics (D’Cunha et al., 2021; Shastri et al., 2021; Fox et al., 2020). Shrivastava et al., 2020 discovered a significant improvement of patient outcomes after a simulation-based training curriculum was implemented.
Methods: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the effects of supplementing traditional BLS training with interprofessional simulation training on staff members responsible for managing patients in a medical emergency. The sample was recruited from a rural hospital setting and included staff members who are responsible for responding to rapidly deteriorating patients and included registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), radiology technicians, laboratory technicians, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists, and respiratory technicians. Four different rapid response patient scenarios were presented in various departments of the hospital, and participants were asked to respond to each situation exactly as they would in real life. Once the scenario was completed, the participants were able to debrief as a group to identify strengths and weaknesses as well as discuss strategies for improvement. Immediately following the debrief, participants were asked to anonymously complete the post-intervention simulation effectiveness scale (SET) to measure the effectiveness of a simulated clinical experience (SCE) which included a Learning Subscale.
Results: There was a total of 22 staff members that completed the scenario and post-intervention SET. The participants strongly agreed with multiple items of the Learning Subscale with 90.9% for the item I was challenged in my thinking and decision-making skills followed by 86.4% with the items I developed a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the conditions in the SCE and Completing the SCE helped me understand classroom information better. Over half (68.2%) of the participants strongly agreed with the items I developed a better understanding of the medications that were in the SCE and I learned as much from observing my peers as I did when I was actively involved in caring for the simulated patient.
Conclusion: The majority of respondents strongly agreed to all questions in the Learning Subscale of the SET tool indicating that exposure to additional interprofessional simulation training in conjunction with traditional education methods can enhance staff competence in managing a patient in distress. Periodic use of similar simulated training sessions may help staff retain knowledge, increase interprofessional communication, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Description
The purpose of this presentation is to describe the effect of interprofessional simulation training as a supplement to traditional basic life support training. The project was implemented in a rural hospital and included employees from multiple disciplines in an effort to increase proficiency in responding to a rapidly deteriorating patient.