Applications of Simulation-Based Interprofessional Education in Critical Care Settings and Situations: Emergency Room, Trauma, Critical Care, Rapid Response, and Disasters

Abstract

Advances in healthcare have enabled clinicians to help increasingly sicker patients recover from illness and disease. As a result, the timely identification and treatment of critically ill individuals by specialized interprofessional teams within acute care hospitals and settings is now an essential feature of care. From rapid response teams intervening in the treatment of a deteriorating patient before the development of cardiopulmonary arrest to trauma teams treating accident and assault victims with serious physiologic disturbances, these interprofessional teams must function as cohesive units in order to adapt to the dynamic changes seen in these dire situations. Simulation-based training (SBT) is an ideal modality for honing the team interactions and function of such specialized interprofessional squads. This chapter will examine the role of interprofessional SBT in preparing healthcare providers in their treatment of critically ill patients and for mass casualty situations. In doing so, it will briefly discuss key interprofessional competencies needed by modern healthcare acute care teams. It will then review applications of interprofessional SBT currently used in such settings. It will close with a discussion of potential obstacles to conducting such training and strategies to overcome them.