Simulated teamwork: A qualitative description of pre-licensure health care students' experiences

Abstract

Today’s complex and challenging heath care conditions require collaborative health care for better health outcomes and a reduction of adverse results. Simulated interprofessional education has been identified as a resource to meet this need. Simulation based interventions rather than lecture based collaborative learning can lead to improved attitudes towards teamwork and a better understanding of health professional roles. A thorough understanding of a student’s perspective is essential for designing successful collaborative care training, as the data can inform teachers on best practices in the instructing and learning of teamwork skills. This will enable educators to align and adapt curriculum objectives to achieve interprofessional education competencies. A qualitative approach has been adopted to gain insight and understanding of the experiences of pre-licensure health care students towards teamwork when exposed to a simulated interprofessional education program. This study employed qualitative description as the methodology for the data collection and analysis activities.