Incorporating IPE and simulation experiences into graduate speech-language pathology training

Abstract

Ineffective interprofessional collaboration between healthcare workers can negatively impact patient care. At a time when people are living longer with chronic health conditions, it is becoming increasingly important that university programs incorporate interprofessional education into student training. Despite this urgency, a disconnect remains between current training programs and healthcare workforce needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect inclusion of nursing (NSG) students and simulation experiences into a graduate-level speech-language pathology (SLP) course had on increasing the knowledge and skill level preparedness of SLP students entering their hospital externships. Students participated in a series of four classes that incorporated interprofessional education (IPE)-simulation experiences. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest experimental design was selected to collect SLP student responses. Results suggest SLP graduate students felt significantly more knowledgeable as a result of the simulation experiences regarding the roles and responsibilities of NSG and SLPs in patient care and Phil Weir-Mayta ABOUT THE AUTHOR Phil Weir-Mayta is an Assistant Professor at California State University-Fullerton. His research interests include examining frameworks for adding interprofessional education and simulation experiences into training programs for Speech-Language Pathology students. The goal of his research is to enhance students' interpro-fessional collaboration skills in an effort to better equip them with the communication techniques, knowledge, and confidence needed to participate successfully on interprofessional healthcare teams providing patient-centered care. The research reported in this paper is part of a larger line of research exploring frameworks for universities to follow when incorporating interprofes-sional education and simulation experiences into training programs for students in communicative disorders. PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people are now living longer with multiple chronic conditions. As a result, patient care facilities are facing an increasing shortage of healthcare workers armed with the interprofes-sional collaboration skills needed to provide quality patient-centered care. In an effort to help bolster the health workforce, the WHO encouraged universities to move away from a discipline-specific training model to an inter-disciplinary team approach to practice. However, despite this recommendation, a disconnect remains between current university programs and current workforce needs. While incorporating interprofessional education into training programs has gained momentum, programs are often unsure how to incorporate such training. The current study provides a flexible framework for universities to follow who wish to incorporate IPE and simulation into curriculum. Results contributed to the growing body of literature that finds inclusion of IPE and simulation experiences beneficial to students in healthcare training programs. Weir-Mayta et al., Cogent Medicine (2020), 7: 1847415 https://doi. Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. significantly more prepared in their skills for entering a hospital as a medical SLP intern.