Outcomes of an Interprofessional Simulated Patient Encounter for Undergraduate Exercise Science & Pre-professional Students

Interprofessional education and simulation promote teamwork, communication, and collaboration. Traditionally reserved for graduate students, these programs are increasingly being introduced to undergraduates.Goals, objectives, and purpose: Our objectives are to (1) describe our steps to implementing an interprofessional simulation activity for undergraduate Exercise Science students and (2) discuss the impact of this interprofessional simulation activity on undergraduate students according to two Kirkpatrick levels of evaluation: reaction and learning.Methods/Methodology: Student teams engaged with standardized patients in a complex simulated healthcare scenario involving a high school athlete recovering from a serious knee injury, joined by a parent and coach. Students role-played members of the athlete’s healthcare team (athletic trainer, physical therapist, and strength and conditioning coach) to plan the athlete’s return to sport. The simulation emphasized interprofessional communication, collaboration, patient-centered care, and shared decision-making. Following simulation, students and standardized patients completed the Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide® (JTOG). Students also completed a post-program evaluation, including three open-ended questions about their learning. Directed content analysis was conducted on the open-ended responses.Results/Findings: Over two years, 38 undergraduate students participated in the simulation. Program evaluations were high (median=4.8, interquartile range=0.6, maximum=5). Students strongly agreed their knowledge and skills in team-based patient-centered care increased from the program (median=5.0, interquartile range=0.2, maximum=5), and JTOG scores were high (median=5.8, interquartile range=1.3, maximum=7). The highest-frequency themes from open-ended responses about learning were the impact of teamwork and communicating with team members (29%) and importance of awareness of patient/family needs (28%).Conclusions, implications, and/or curiosities: Teaching teamwork is essential for preparing students to work collaboratively, which ultimately improves patient outcomes. Interprofessional simulation offers a unique, low-stakes, and realistic approach to team building. It prepares students to communicate, collaborate, and understand each other’s roles within a team, building their self-confidence in the process. We plan to run this simulation again in April 2025, adding another 20 participants to the sample.