(110) A Multi-Campus Interprofessional Ethics Case Simulation and Debrief Session to Enhance Collaborative Care

Objective : To create and implement simulated interprofessional patient-centered care cases in which student teams collaborate to assess, discuss, and resolve complex ethical problems.

Methods: A case-based ethics simulation activity between third-year pharmacy and nurse practitioner students and standardized patients was developed and evaluated. Faculty with Ethics expertise developed interprofessional cases covering topics addressed in each school’s curricula. Using a telehealth format, 140 pharmacy students were paired with 55 nurse practitioner students and met with a standardized patient at specified times in a virtual room. Students interviewed their patient, privately discussed ethical issues, and mutually worked toward a resolution. Quantitative evaluation of student teams’ participation in an interprofessional activity was assessed using the Creighton Interprofessional Collaborative Evaluation (C-ICE©) instrument. The interprofessional teams met for debrief sessions to reflect on their interactions. Post-experience theme analysis of student survey feedback was conducted.

Results: The C-ICE© instrument includes a score for Values and Ethics which was analyzed. Eighty-four percent of the teams received all points for the Values and Ethics score. Theme analysis was performed on student comments and the most prominent themes identified were benefit from collaborating with other healthcare professionals, the value of increased communication between healthcare partners and the patient, and the importance of patient-centered care (including the patient in team discussion and addressing concerns).

Conclusions: Implementation of interprofessional cases using telehealth technology is an effective way for professional schools to incorporate complex patient cases with ethical dilemmas into their curricula. Students reported increased interprofessional collaboration, improved communication between all members of the team, and recognized significance of patient-centered care.