Abstract
BACKGROUND Innovative teaching strategies are needed to promote interprofessional care. An interprofessional simulation experience was developed for students to work as a team and practice TeamSTEPPS principles. TeamSTEPPS is an evidenced-based tool developed by the Department of Defense to improve teamwork and communication skills for healthcare professionals that aims to create a “culture of safety.” SAMPLE Healthcare students in Physician Assistant (PA), Social Work (SW), Occupational Therapy (OT), Nursing, Athletic Training (AT), Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P), Clinical Lab Science (CLS), Dietetics and Health Administration (HA) participated. METHODS A 30-item Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (TAQ) was given pre- and post-simulation to evaluate our goal of assessing the attitudes of students toward teamwork and communication after participating in this interprofessional simulation. Another survey was given that asked students for qualitative information regarding their experience. RESULTS Questionnaire results from 195 students demonstrated that a significant main effect, pre- versus post-test, on each category of the TeamSTEPPS principles, i.e. team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communications. CONCLUSIONS Students in each discipline showed an improvement in attitudes toward TeamSTEPPS principles regardless of their specific discipline. All qualitative comments reported a positive, worthwhile experience. Future research would include replication of this study at multiple sites and assessing if the benefits of improved attitudes in teamwork transfer into practice and improve patient outcomes.