PURPOSE: This study determines the impact a standardized simulated patient scenario has on interprofessional readiness and role definition of occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and nursing students. Research questions are (1) What is the impact of standardized patients or human patient simulation (HPS) on interprofessional readiness in 2nd-yr OT, PT, and nursing students and (2) how does interaction during the standardized patient or HPS impact role definition in these students?

RATIONALE: Research studied the impact of interprofessional relationships in pharmacy, medicine, and nursing; however, limited research exists in OT and PT on the impact of simulated patients on interprofessional collaboration and role definition. The OT, PT, and nursing departments are collaborating using high-fidelity HPS and standardized patients (patient actors) to teach concepts and foster discussion and reflection among students about different roles they may play in the rehabilitation of a patient. Questions about the impact of high-fidelity HPS or standardized patients on interprofessionalism, including how communication and role definition may evolve through interaction with other professional students and what factor may impact the readiness of students to participate in IPE have arisen. Answers will help prepare students for current health care practice and address interprofessional competencies expected of disciplines such as OT, PT, and nursing.

DESIGN: Descriptive quantitative pilot study that measures attitude and perception of students from multiple disciplines using a pretest/standardized and HPS intervention/posttest design.

PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-five 2nd-yr nursing, OT, and PT students.

METHOD: The Readiness for Inter-Professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) is a 19-item Likert scale, with 5 points ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), that assesses attitudes and perceptions of students and professionals to determine readiness for interprofessional learning and change. Subscales are teamwork and collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibilities. Multidisciplinary student groups were formed and completed the RIPLS before a simulated experience and at two additional times during HPS learning activities to document changes. SPSS was used to analyze data. Mean scores and paired t tests were used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS: Fifty-five or 81% completed the first pretest and posttest. Fifty-four, or 79%, completed the second pretest. Research Question 1 (interprofessional readiness) mean score of 4.0/5.0) among all three disciplines indicates that students agreed HPS activity supported teamwork and collaboration and is essential to IPE. For professional identity, a low score is considered positive, and the mean score for pretest was 2.0 and for final posttest was 1.7, indicating that shared learning enabled better communication with other professionals. Research Question 2 addressed role definition. Pretest mean score was 2.11, and posttest mean score was 1.81. Overall standardized/HPS positively contributed to comprehension of roles and responsibilities of the disciplines.

DISCUSSION: All subscales showed greatest change from first pretest to the final posttest. Teamwork and collaboration and professional identity were perceived as important for interprofessional readiness. Learning experience also increased knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of other disciplines in regard to patient care planning.

IMPACT STATEMENT: Findings support that standardized HPS used as a teaching modality for encouraging interprofessional readiness and increasing role definition was an effective method of learning among multidisciplinary students.