An interprofessional course using human patient simulation to teach patient safety and teamwork skills.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of human patient simulation to teach patient safety, team-building skills, and the value of interprofessional collaboration to pharmacy students.

DESIGN: Five scenarios simulating semi-urgent situations that required interprofessional collaboration were developed. Groups of 10 to 12 health professions students that included 1 to 2 pharmacy students evaluated patients while addressing patient safety hazards.

ASSESSMENT: Pharmacy students' scores on 8 of 30 items on a post-simulation survey of knowledge, skills, and attitudes improved over pre-simulation scores. Students' scores on 3 of 10 items on a team building and interprofessional communications survey also improved after participating in the simulation exercise. Over 90% of students reported that simulation increased their understanding of professional roles and the importance of interprofessional communication.

CONCLUSIONS: Simulation training provided an opportunity to improve pharmacy students' ability to recognize and react to patient safety concerns and enhanced their interprofessional collaboration and communication skills.