A Facilitated Debriefing Tool for Interprofessional Teams After a Home Visit

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Recent policies and recommendations by health care organizations have focused on the importance of providing a patient-centered approach to health care and the need for interprofessional training in health professions. Interprofessional teams not only are fundamental to patient-centered care, particularly in regard to services for seniors and chronically ill patients, but are also associated with improved clinical outcomes. Although the team-based approach to health care is gaining in popularity with successful results, it is a relatively new addition to most health care professional programs. Methods A facilitated debriefing toolkit was developed to lead medical and nursing students through a guided discussion after participation in an interprofessional home visit exercise. This toolkit is intended to help faculty with structuring debriefing questions and guidelines for increasing student involvement during debriefing sessions. The toolkit contains examples of questions that can be used during an interprofessional debriefing session that focuses on teamwork, situational awareness, and reflective practice. It also provides instructors with ground rules for leading interprofessional debriefings as tips to guide conversations with students. Results The training materials were used during four facilitated debriefing sessions that were presented to medical and nursing students. The session was well received and students actively participated in the discussion. Discussion Introducing novice learners to interprofessional experiences brings with it a number of challenges, such as coordinating curriculum logistics, aligning curricula in multiple disciplines for purposes of class assignments, identifying opportunities for students to meet with their fellow team members, and identifying time for students to carry out the requirements of the assignment. In addition to developing specific content with interprofessional goals in mind, faculty must prepare materials and experiences to engage the students in a transformative learning process where they can see the application of what they are learning as it relates to the real world. Although this resource was developed to assist educators debriefing students after a home visit, it can be easily adapted and used with students involved in other interprofessional education settings.

Keywords

• Debriefing
• Reflective Practice
• In-home Visit