Small Scale, Low Resource Options for Introducing Clinical Laboratory Science Students to Interprofessional Simulation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In the report, Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality, the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) has detailed a vision for preparing healthcare professionals.1 A focal point within this vision is teaching students to work in interdisciplinary teams. In a separate report, Measuring the Impact of Interprofessional Education on Collaborative Practice and Patient Outcomes, the IOM calls for an alignment of education and healthcare delivery systems.2 The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) education community needs to readily embrace the IOMs vision and enthusiastically answer the call with innovative educational methods such as interprofessional simulation (IP). Some CLS programs are already considering interprofessional simulation, but may not have an existing simulation infrastructure or financial support from administration. Other programs have a laboratory with instrumentation, but have not yet made the leap from simulating a “day in the lab” with CLS students to including students from professions outside the laboratory to provide comprehensive situations that more closely mimic working in a healthcare environment. This manuscript offers small scale, low resource options to help a CLS program include IP simulation as an innovative educational method to teach interprofessional communication and teamwork. Getting Started: Know the Fundamentals While high fidelity mannequins, patient rooms, and instrumentation provide an authentic environment, they are not required to offer a quality IP experience. There are, however, fundamentals that remain the same whether designing intricate scenarios for students from several professional programs or simple scenarios with students from only two professions. This includes the alignment of content knowledge between students… ABBREVIATIONS: IOM – Institutes of Medicine, CLS – Clinical laboratory scientist, IP - Interprofessional, SBAR – Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation/request, Team STEPPS - Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety, APP – Advanced practice provider, WHO – World Health Organization, CUS – Concerned, Uncomfortable, Safety issue, SP – Simulated patient, PA – Physician assistant, UAB – University of Alabama at Birmingham