Developing inter-professional simulation in the undergraduate setting: an experience with five different professional groups

This article reports our experience of developing half-day sessions of interprofessional simulation for pre-qualifying students from medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, radiography and operating department practice. One hundred and ninety-one students participated in a session. A questionnaire consisting of Likert type, visual analog and open comment questions explored their perceptions of the sessions as a learning experience, their attitudes toward interprofessional learning and the factors important for good patient care either after, or before and after, the session, as appropriate. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, statistical tests for difference or thematic coding. Our data suggest that routine scenarios following patient journeys offer such students valuable educational experiences. In order to maximize the educational value of such sessions, particular attention should be paid to the benefits anticipated for individual professions, as well as those for all groups; to the wider educational context in which sessions lie and to the careful management of debriefing. A collaborative approach to the development of these increasingly popular but time and resource intensive educational interventions is advantageous for both staff and students.