Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Oct 5;1(3):87-93.
doi: 10.1136/bmjstel-2015-000022. eCollection 2015.

Effective interprofessional simulation training for medical and midwifery students

S E Edwards  1 , S Platt  2 , E Lenguerrand  3 , C Winter  4 , J Mears  5 , S Davis  6 , G Lucas  6 , E Hotton  7 , R Fox  4 , T Draycott  1 , D Siassakos  1
Affiliations

Effective interprofessional simulation training for medical and midwifery students

S E Edwards et al. BMJ Simul Technol Enhanc Learn. .

Abstract

Introduction: Good interprofessional teamworking is essential for high quality, efficient and safe clinical care. Undergraduate interprofessional training has been advocated for many years to improve interprofessional working. However, few successful initiatives have been reported and even fewer have formally assessed their educational impact.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of medical and midwifery students at a tertiary-level maternity unit. An interprofessional training module was developed and delivered by a multiprofessional faculty to medical and midwifery students, including short lectures, team-building exercises and practical simulation-based training for one obstetric (shoulder dystocia) and three generic emergencies (sepsis, haemorrhage, collapse). Outcome measures were interprofessional attitudes, assessed with a validated questionnaire (UWE Interprofessional Questionnaire) and clinical knowledge, measured with validated multiple-choice questions.

Results: Seventy-two students participated (34 medical, 38 midwifery). Following training median interprofessional attitude scores improved in all domains (p<0.0001), and more students responded in positive categories for communication and teamwork (69-89%, p=0.004), interprofessional interaction (3-16%, p=0.012) and interprofessional relationships (74-89%, p=0.006). Scores for knowledge improved following training for medical students (65.5% (61.8-70%) to 82.3% (79.1-84.5%) (median (IQR)) p<0.0001) and student midwives (70% (64.1-76.4%) to 81.8% (79.1-86.4%) p<0.0001), and in all subject areas (p<0.0001).

Conclusions: This training was associated with meaningful improvements in students' attitudes to teamwork, and knowledge acquisition. Integrating practical tasks and teamwork training, in authentic clinical settings, with matched numbers of medical and non-medical students can facilitate learning of both why and how to work together. This type of training could be adopted widely in undergraduate healthcare education.

Keywords: Interprofessional education; obstetric emergencies; simulation; teamwork; undergraduate.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: SEE and DS are members of the PROMPT Maternity Foundation (PMF), a charitable foundation for training in obstetric emergencies, with no financial gains from the charity. CW is the senior research midwife for PMF and her salary is partially funded by the charity. TD is a trustee of PMF, with no financial gains. He also acts as a paid consultant for Limbs & Things and Ferring. None of the other authors have any interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Interprofessional attitude scores before and after training for all students. Attitudes assessed using University of West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interprofessional attitude scores before and after training for medical students. Attitudes assessed using University of West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interprofessional attitude scores before and after training for midwifery students. Attitudes assessed using University of West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice. 2010. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2010/WHO_HRH_HPN_10.3_eng.pdf - PubMed
    1. Zwarenstein M, Goldman J, Reeves S. Interprofessional collaboration: effects of practice-based interventions on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2009;(3):CD000072. 10.1002/14651858.CD000072.pub2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Learning together to work together for health. World Health Organization, 1988. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_769.pdf
    1. Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA, et al. . Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet 2010;376:1923–58. 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61854-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fraser D, The MINT Research Team. The MINT Project. Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2010. http://ww.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Midwifery-Reports/MINT-report.pdf

LinkOut - more resources