Faculty facilitators’ and standardized family members (SFMs) perceptions of student teamwork during an interprofessional education simulation workshop

ABSTRACT

Standardized patients can be trained to portray standardized family members (SFMs) for interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives to maximize student learning. To date, studies of IPE often focus on student learning outcomes rather than on the feedback and perspectives of SFMs and faculty facilitators (FFs), The purpose of our study was to examine SFMs’ and FFs’ perspectives immediately after participating in an IPE workshop. SFMs and FFs completed a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions to identify positive and challenging aspects of interactions with health professions students during an IPE workshop. A directed content analysis approach was used to assess written feedback (N = 29) from SFMs and FFs. Study findings highlight many similar themes between SFMs and FFs as well as minor differences regarding recognition of emotion and communication transitions. SFMs and FFs both agreed, however, that these are areas for further development by students to improve communication. Our study adds insight into SFMs’ and FFs’ feedback immediately after an IPE workshop.

KEYWORDS:

• Faculty facilitators
• interprofessional education
• standardized family members

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge all of the study participants. Additionally the authors would like to individually thank and acknowledge Jerry Johnson, MD; Mary Ann Forciea, MD; Cathy Poon, PharmD; Zvi Gellis, Ph.D; Joel Streim, MD, and John Seman-program coordinator.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This publication was made possible by Grant Number # U1QHP28720 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project described was supported by Grant Number #U1QHP28720 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Health Resources and Services Administration or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.