Transforming a Hands-on Interprofessional, Comprehensive Mass Casualty Simulation, into a Virtual Model Due to COVID-19

BACKGROUND- Interprofessional Education (IPE) is an integral curriculum component at Mercy College of Ohio to prepare graduates for interprofessional collaborative practice. Students experience the Mercy Difference through team-based education grounded in ethics, aimed at transforming healthcare by improving the quality and safety of patient centered care. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, hands-on IPE curriculum was transformed into virtual models. The aim of this project is to evaluate an interactive online version of a comprehensive interprofessional simulation whose primary concepts included disaster preparedness, response and mitigation with mass casualty incidents (MCI).

METHODS- Undergraduate nursing and paramedic students completed the curriculum in CANVAS; preparation assignments, asynchronous module and interprofessional discussion board. Video clips and interactive quizzing were utilized for application of concepts introduced through victim case studies. Participants evaluated the curriculum post completion, using survey method. Participants rated achievement of identified learning objectives and their ability to meet interprofessional competencies; selecting their level of agreement on a five-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree) using the IPEC Competency Self-Assessment Tool, Version 3 (Lockeman et al, 2016).

RESULTS- Post completion survey response rate was 86% (n=36). Participants agreed (89%) the curriculum increased their understanding of emergency response and triage skills to maximize survival. Participants agreed (86%) it helped them understand the roles and responsibilities of the health care team and importance of communication in disaster response; (83%) agreed it helped them understand the importance of collaboration/teamwork and (78%) agreed that as a direct result of participating, they felt more prepared to help in response to MCI. Participants posted greater than the minimum amount of peer responses required in the discussion board; stating appreciation for the other discipline’s perspective. Participants demonstrated higher scores in the Interprofessional Values sub-scale (4.21) than the Interprofessional Interaction sub-scale (4.13).

CONCLUSION- The learning objectives were achieved with the virtual IPE model. When compared to the live hands-on version (n=58), there was a 12% (average) deviation in these results; 85.3% and 97.3% respectively. Interprofessional competencies were also met with the virtual model, but the live version demonstrated slightly higher scores for the Interprofessional Interaction sub-scale (4.20) and Interprofessional Value sub-scale (4.33).

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE- The online version can effectively substitute a comprehensive interprofessional simulation if necessary due to social distancing requirements, while still maintaining high quality education. The virtual model could be further improved by adding teamwork strategies that were more prominent in the live version and inviting other disciplines to participate.

REFERENCE- Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016).

Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. Washington, DC:

Interprofessional Education Collaborative.

Lockeman, K. S., Dow, A. W., DiazGranados, D., McNeilly, D. P., Nickol, D., Koehn, M., & Knab, M. S. (2016). Refinement of the IPEC competency self-assessment survey: Results of a multi-institutional study. Journal of Interprofessional Care,30(6), 726-731. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2016.1220928