Early outcomes from a national Train-the-Trainer Interprofessional Team Development Program.

The imperative need to train health professions faculty (educators and clinicians) to lead interprofessional education efforts and promote interprofessional team-based care is widely recognized. This need stems from a growing body of research that suggests collaboration improves patient safety and health outcomes. This short report provides an overview of a Train-the-Trainer Interprofessional Team Development Program (T3 Program) that equips faculty leaders with the skills to lead interprofessional education and interprofessional collaborative practice across the learning continuum. We also describe the history, approach, and early outcomes of this innovative program.

Assessing team communication with patients' families: Findings from utilizing the Communication Assessment Tool-Team (CAT-T) in an interprofessional error disclosure simulation.

OBJECTIVE: The CAT-T was incorporated into an interprofessional error disclosure (ED) simulation to assess team communication with a patient family member. METHODS: Interprofessional student groups (n = 55) planned for team-based ED with facilitation by faculty. Students participated in three scenarios of ED with a standardized family member (SFM) who displayed the emotions of sadness, anger, and distrust sequentially. SFMs completed the CAT-T tool for each emotion. CAT-T items were classified as empathy or disclosure skills by factor analysis. Qualitative comments from the SFM were provided during debrief. RESULTS: Students performed well on team-based ED from the SFM perspective. Team performance improved when the SFM displayed distrust after observing peers disclose for the sad and angry emotion. Higher composite scores were found on CAT-T items categorized as empathy skills. CONCLUSIONS: The ED simulation allowed students to practice disclosure skills in a low-stakes environment and receive feedback from a SFM based on behaviors evaluated on the CAT-T. The simulation design allowed students to improve their performance by incorporating feedback into subsequent cycles. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Immersive experiences where observable student behaviors can be assessed are important to enhance IPE curriculum and to build skills in pre-licensure students that will be foundational for collaborative practice.

Measuring the Impact of the National Train-the-Trainer Interprofessional Team Development Program (T3-ITDP) on the Implementation of Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice.

BACKGROUND: In order to prepare current and future educators and clinicians to lead interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), faculty and staff need training in collaborative approaches to developing, implementing, assessing, and sustaining high quality IPE across the interprofessional learning continuum. The Train-the-Trainer Interprofessional Team Development Program (T3-ITDP) is a 3.5-day program designed to develop expert IPE teams through interactive workshops, coaching, and the development and implementation of an IPE or IPCP (IPECP) project for their home institutions. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of the T3-ITDP on the development and implementation of IPECP projects by participating teams. METHODS: The T3-ITDP impact survey was created and administered to collect data on the scope and impact of participant teams' projects, including learner and project outcomes, training methods, dissemination plans, assessment strategies, and teams' intentions to continue working together beyond the initial project. With human subject's approval, we invited 55 T3-ITDP participant teams to complete the impact survey. These teams were at least one year post-completion of the in-person portion of the program and thus had time to initiate their IPECP projects. RESULTS: Forty-one (74.5%) teams responded to the survey. Of those teams, 31 (76%) used T3-ITDP content and/or approaches to develop their IPECP projects that targeted learners across the interprofessional learning continuum. Sustainability of IPECP projects was supported through several mechanisms, including institutional support or incorporating IPECP activities into existing courses. Almost half of the teams worked together on new projects, and 74% of teams planned to repeat a newly developed activity. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS: Results of the T3-ITDP impact survey demonstrated that team-based, project-focused professional development catalyzed the development, implementation, and sustainment of new IPECP projects at academic and community institutions throughout the U.S.

Implementation and evaluation of activities to foster a sense of community among pharmacy students.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of a series of team-based instructional activities on students' sense of community for pharmacy students assigned to the main and distance program sites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In conjunction with a teaching objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) conducted at the program's distance site, several team-based sense of community activities were completed. The classroom and school community inventory (CSCI) was adapted and administered to students prior to and following all learning activities to measure course and program sense of community. RESULTS: Pre- and post-surveys were completed by 116 students. Course and program sense of community significantly increased among students at the distance site (p = 0.007 and p = 0.008, respectively). No significant changes were found for students assigned to the main site. CONCLUSION: For programs with multiple sites, activities designed to enhance sense of community and conducted at the distance site are effective for students assigned to the distance site.

Teaching clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills using human patient simulation.

This paper discusses using human patient simulation (HPS) to expose students to complex dynamic patient cases that require clinical judgment, problem-solving skills, and teamwork skills for success. An example of an HPS exercise used to teach multifaceted clinical concepts in a therapeutics course also is provided.