Interprofessional “Mash Up” at the School of Health Sciences

Wednesday, Oct. 27 started as any ordinary pre-clinical training day in the School of Health Sciences, but the afternoon held fun and surprises as nursing, physical ttherapy and physician assistant students were grouped and sent to evaluate “patients” in the Interprofessional Simulation Center in an “Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) Mash Up.”

The purpose of the event was to expose students to interprofessional competencies and give them an opportunity to practice skills in interprofessional collaborative teams, which have been shown to improve patient satisfaction, improve efficiencies, reduce error/harm and reduce burnout.

Each team consisted of students from each discipline who evaluated four patients  in one hour, followed by debrief with the “patient”/facilitator. There were 14 ABSN, 46 DPT and 37 PA students involved with a total of 334 clinical encounters over the course of the afternoon.

The patients were portrayed by SHS administrators, faculty, and staff including Dean Becky Neiduski and program chairs Professor Tiffany Morris and Professor Stephen Folger, Professor Antoinette Polito, Professor Mary Kay Hannah, Professor Jeanmarie Koonts, Professor Melissa Scales and Diane Person. PA program director, Kim Stokes, organized the event and Nita Skillman, director of the Interprofessional Simulation Center, operationalized the project.

The event was successful with positive feedback from students and facilitators. Additional interprofessional events are being planned for 2022. For more information or to collaborate, reach out to Kim Stokes at kstokes3@elon.edu.