Attitudes of Nurse and Physician trainees towards an interprofessional simulated education experience on Pain Assessment and Management

Abstract

An interprofessional group of educators from multiple institutions piloted a simulation-based learning experience focusing on acute pain management. The participants in the program were resident physicians–novice nurse dyads, and medical student–nursing student dyads from large universities and a magnet health care system. Each dyad was challenged to assess and manage acute pain in a simulated hospitalized patient using effective collaboration skills. The simulations included pre-debriefing, simulation, and a debriefing session. Participants completed pre- and post-surveys measuring confidence in pain management and attitudes toward physician–nurse collaboration. There was a significant positive shift in the confidence of the learners’ ability to assess and manage acute pain in a hospitalized patient after the simulation and debriefing (23.2% strongly agreed versus 7% at baseline). Participants’ attitudes regarding education to enhance interprofessional collaboration improved after the simulation experience (83.9% strongly agreed versus 73.7% at baseline). Based on these encouraging findings, we are extending this interprofessional experience to a larger group of learners with the same targeted dyads.

• Communication
• interdisciplinary
• interprofessional education
• team-based care
• teamwork

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this paper.