Title: Interprofessional digital case scenarios for training Future healthcare professionals to speak up for patient safety

Abstract

While working in clinical settings, health professions students do not always feel empowered to raise patient safety concerns. In order to work more effectively within teams, they need practice to confidently, effectively and politely communicate with colleagues about potential risks. To address this training gap, faculty from A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona developed four digital patient safety case scenarios for second-year medical students. These scenarios were designed to help students decide the best course of action in preventing a given a patient safety issue. Methods: In fall 2018, 97 second-year medical students working in dyad or triad teams, completed a set of four digital scenarios, completing 11 assessment questions with instant feedback, and participating in debrief discussions. Next, individual students completed a 12-item post-test to assess learning. Descriptive statistics were reviewed for the assessment questions, and case critical thinking discussion answers were reviewed to evaluate student comprehension. Results: The mean score for the module was 95.5% (SD= 6.36%, range = 75%-100%). Seventy-eight students completed the post-test, which had a mean score of 96.5% (SD = 6.51%, range = 66.7%-100%). Student written responses to the four case critical thinking discussion prompts indicated a high level of comprehension. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that these digital case studies provided a technology-enhanced method for introducing key patient safety concepts and role playing interprofessional communication.