Taking Our IDEA from Simulation to Reality
Objectives
(1) Describe an interprofessional clinical practice experience in the transitions of care clinic setting
(2) Discuss the outcomes from a clinical interprofessional experience
Methodology
Interprofessional faculty members from dentistry, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs took part in an innovation challenge to create an interprofessional clinical practice activity from an existing simulation experience. Students from these disciplines had been participating in the InterDisciplinary Education Apartment Simulation (IDEAS) to learn about providing home care for a patient transitioning home from the acute care setting. In order to translate this educational experience into clinical practice to improve patient care, the faculty members created a clinical practice experience by collaborating with the Transitions of Care Clinic (TCC) at the university's hospital. Interprofessional teams of students participate in IPE huddles to learn about telemedicine, review patient cases, and meet with patients in person or via telemedicine.
Results
During the pilot year 2021-22, there have been five IPE huddles which included 17 students from 7 disciplines. Twelve patients have been discussed with interventions and patient education. All interventions included coordination of care, 90% of IPE huddles provided medication reconciliation and/ or medication adjustment, and patient counseling included vaccinations, smoking cessation, continuous glucose monitoring, and fall precautions. Additional tracking will include ED utilization, readmission within 30 days of enrollment, medication obtainment, cost savings by gas mileage by using telemedicine, blood pressure, A1C, sub-specialty clinician enrollment, and need for additional services.
Conclusions
The Transitions of Care Clinic is an ideal setting for collaborative practice to expand on interprofessional education simulation experiences. Students can utilize skills learned in an educational setting to provide patient care and improve clinical outcomes.
Implications
The implications for both interprofessional education and practice and clinical care are significant. Improved patient outcomes and cost savings for the patients and healthcare providers during the pilot are showing the value of intentional collaboration. As we are paving the way to integrate more interprofessional collaborative practice, this project will be a driving force of these efforts.
