Implementation of a training for interprofessional ward rounds for undergraduate nursing, medicine and pharmacy students

Introduction/Overview/Purpose
During ward rounds different professions meet, discuss and co-ordinate patient care. Optimal teamwork in these interdisciplinary teams is essential for the quality and efficiency of the work. In order to enable optimal teamwork effective communication, shared understanding of patient goals, and colleagues’ roles are needed. Although internationally interprofessional trainings in ward rounds have been successfully implemented, in our institution (undergraduate medical school) little attention was paid to training these skills so far.
Description of Innovation/Discussion Topic
Becoming aware of an existing training of interprofessional ward rounds at the center for higher education in nursing, project leaders of this training were approached with the proposal to extend the training to the medical students at our institution. The didactic concept of the training combines a media-enriched flipped classroom and peer-facilitated learning with experiential SP-based simulation. In co-operation with the school for higher education in nursing, the training is being tested with small pilot groups of students in fall 2024 and spring 2025. Further goals are to extend the training from a voluntary pilot-project to a mandatory course and to include as many different professions as possible (i.e. including physiotherapy and nutritionists). Besides the different numbers of students and divergent organizational structures in the various professions, combining SP-programs from different institutions is a major challenges in the project. Although the programs share the values of ASPEs SOBPs there are substantial differences in the actual implementation of these values. The instituions have different policies and procedures, different wages, different ways to train SPs, etc.
Discussion
Interprofessional cooperation is in essential element in effective healthcare. Interestingly, the most important obstacles to interprofessional teamwork are not only in effect in carrying out interprofessional ward rounds, but also come into play in planning interprofessional curricular activities.
Conclusion
Working on overcoming the challenges of interprofessional projects is not only important to implement interprofessional trainings, but also fosters the understanding and cooperation between institutions of different professions.