Impact of pharmacy student observation versus active participation in an interprofessional simulation

Objective. To compare the change in pharmacy students’ self-reported competence toward interprofessional collaboration between those that were active participants in or observers of an interprofessional simulation. Methods. Second-and third-year (P2 and P3) pharmacy students and senior nursing students participated in an interprofessional simulation. Third-year pharmacy students and senior nursing students were divided into teams of four (two from each profession) and were active participants. Second-year pharmacy students were observers. All pharmacy students were asked to complete a brief demographic survey and the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) after the simulation. Mean retrospective pretest and posttest ICCAS scores for each group of learners were compared using paired sample t tests. To examine the difference in the change in mean total ICCAS score between observers and active participants, repeated measures analysis of variance was completed. Results. One hundred thirty (95%) P2 pharmacy students and 121 (92%) P3 pharmacy students participated in the interprofessional simulation experience as observers and active participants, respectively, and completed the ICCAS for an overall response rate of 94%. The active participants’ mean ICCAS scores were significantly higher than those of the observers on both the retrospective pretest (M=4.9, SD=1.0 vs M=5.2, SD=1.0) and the posttest (M=5.9, SD=0.7 vs M=6.2, SD=0.7). The mean change in scores from retrospective pretest to posttest was not significantly different between observer and active participant pharmacy students. Conclusion. Both observation and active participation in an interprofessional simulation experience may increase pharmacy students’ self-reported competence in interprofessional collaboration.