Undergraduate cardiac arrest team training.
OBJECTIVE
Health profession students are traditionally educated within their discipline with little to no interaction with other health professionals, but are expected to function as integral members of the health care team after graduation. Health profession educators must bridge this disconnect by providing interprofessional learning experiences for students. We sought to evaluate the impact of interdisciplinary team-based (ITB) versus individual discipline-based (DB) learning with multiple health care disciplines during a simulated cardiac arrest.


METHODS
We performed a randomised trial with trainees from radiologic science (RS), physician assistant (PA) and nursing programmes (RN), taught by ITB and DB methods. Teams assessed a simulated patient experiencing a cardiac arrest before and after being educated using the First 5 Minutes(®) Curriculum (First-5). Knowledge and subjective evaluations were collected on each participant both before and after the educational intervention. The data were analysed using generalised estimating equations to account for correlated data.


RESULTS
We enrolled 29 subjects: 15 ITB (4 PA, 5 RN, 6 RS) and 14 DB (3 PA, 5 RN, 6 RS). Knowledge improved more in the ITB group than in the DB group: with a median change of 2 (IQR 0-2) versus 1 (IQR 0-2), respectively (p = 0.014). Subjectively, participants overwhelmingly responded that working and learning with other disciplines was a valuable experience, and that more opportunities for interdisciplinary learning should be integrated into the curriculum. More opportunities for interdisciplinary learning should be integrated into the curriculum


CONCLUSIONS
In our pilot study using a simulated model and the First-5, ITB education appears to improve trainees' knowledge over DB education, and was subjectively preferred by the learner.
Villa Maria School of Nursing, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Valerie O'Toole
VO
Baker
Radiologic Sciences Program, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Suzanne
S
Sturdivant
Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Carolynn
C
Masters
Patient Simulation Center, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Michael
M
McCarthy
Patient Simulation Center, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.|Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Vincent Health System, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.|Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jestin
J
Carlson
D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D058025:Interdisciplinary Studies / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D000066908:Simulation Training / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D013336:Students, Health Occupations; D055815:Young Adult