Sepsis in a Postpartum Patient - A Simulation Scenario for Interprofessional Education

Abstract

Abstract This resource is a 5-hour workshop culminating in a simulation case on sepsis in a postpartum patient developed to educate interprofessional teams of students about teamwork and communication in health care. Prior to the simulation experience, participants engage in a faculty-led session that introduces them to other health care professions, the importance of teamwork and communication in improving health care quality and safety, and the concepts of TeamSTEPPS (teamwork and communication). Implemented with medical, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, and physician assistant students, the simulation requires participants to work together and use their recently learned teamwork and communication concepts to effectively manage a decompensating patient while also identifying their roles on the patient care team. The program and scenario were implemented with approximately 50 students during a pilot interprofessional education program. The participants each rated the scenario as realistic and plausible and felt it provided a good opportunity to put their newly learned skills related to teamwork and communication into practice. The case was designed to be clinically relevant and provide opportunity to work together, yet not be too challenging for these novice health care providers.

Keywords

• Teamwork
• Sepsis
• Postpartum