It Takes a Village”: An Interprofessional Patient Safety Experience for Nursing and Medical Students

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is a “core” competency in professional school education. Challenges to successful collaboration include: aligning student abilities/experience, providing meaningful clinically-based interaction, and the need for extensive planning. Methods: Curriculum. A 3-1/2 hour IPE patient safety experience for final-semester medical and nursing students was developed. The content included an introduction, small-group low-fidelity simulation, and a large-group discussion of patient safety events observed by students during clinical rotations. Logistics. A planning committee met monthly to plan the curriculum and train faculty facilitators. Four sessions were held, accommodating 92 medical and 82 nursing students. Thirty faculty facilitators and 10 support personnel were needed for each session. Results: Over 70% students reported that the experience resulted in new learning and prompted self-reflection; 57% said it would change their practice. Students confirmed that the experience taught them about the importance of patient involvement in the team, the development of a shared mental model, and the importance of everyone’s role on the team. Conclusions: This collaboration successfully aligned students with similar levels of clinical experience, involved many faculty from both professional schools, and gave students opportunities to discuss differences in their roles and responsibilities, while highlighting patient-centered care.

Duke Scholars

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