Article Category: Invited editorial
Published Online: Jan 03, 2024
Page range: 1 - 4
Received: Oct 16, 2023
Accepted: Nov 16, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2024-0001
Keywords
© 2024 Zalika KLEMENC-KETIŠ et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Interprofessional primary care (IPC) is a model of care in which healthcare professionals from different disciplines work together to provide coordinated and comprehensive care to patients. IPC is becoming increasingly important as the healthcare system becomes more complex, and patients have increasingly complex needs (1, 2). For example, a systematic review and meta-analysis found that IPC was associated with improved patient outcomes in a range of areas, including chronic disease management, mental healthcare, and preventive care (3). IPC can also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. Caroon et al. found that those systems which used an IPC model had lower costs per patient and higher rates of patient satisfaction (4).
Despite the benefits of IPC, there are still several challenges to its implementation. One challenge is that healthcare professionals from different disciplines may have different training and backgrounds. This can make it difficult for them to communicate and collaborate effectively, and thus successful teamwork is an emerging educational topic (5). Each team member has a different set of skills and knowledge, and it is important for all team members to be working together effectively to provide the best possible care to patients (6). Team education can help to improve communication and collaboration among team members. It can also help to ensure that all team members are up to date on the latest best practices in primary care. Additionally, team education can help to create a more positive and supportive work environment for all team members.
The specific benefits of team education in primary care include improved patient care, increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved staff satisfaction (7).
The use of simulations in medical education has recently been added as a standard to the European Resuscitation Guidelines from 2021 (8). Similarly, the WHO (9) also said that health professionals’ education and training institutions should use simulations.
Teaching with simulations enables team learning, which is essential for working harmoniously in real-life situations. Through learning with simulations, teams gain self-esteem and increased confidence in the team’s ability to handle a situation properly. Primary care teams that were involved in team education indicated that their management and confidence had improved, that they were better able to take a leadership role, give instructions and delegate tasks as required. They also valued the chance to train as a team (10). It appears that team training improves the performance of the resuscitation team in simulated emergency scenarios (11).
The use of new training methods, such as classroom simulations with 3-dimensional highly realistic simulators (12), can provide comprehensive training in handling medical situations and identifying potentially dangerous medical situations that are usually not part of the daily work of primary care physicians and other healthcare workers (13).
Medical professionals can refine their skills through repetitive practice on simulators, which can lead to better patient outcomes when they encounter real medical situations. Medical simulation prevents harm to real patients who might otherwise be subjected to unnecessary procedures, misdiagnoses, or inexperienced practitioners during training.
Healthcare professionals can make mistakes in a safe environment during simulations, providing valuable learning opportunities without causing harm to patients. This fosters a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, aligning with ethical principles.
Stress is prevalent in the field of medicine, especially in critical and time-sensitive situations. Since stress can hinder the safe execution of tasks and the delivery of high-quality care, it is crucial to impart early education to health workers on stress management. With simulations, we can replicate actual patient scenarios that mirror real-life clinical settings (14), allowing for the assessment of different teams’ competencies in a controlled and standardised manner. This approach provides a secure and effective way to acquire the skills necessary to handle challenging, uncommon, or critical clinical situations. The scenarios are designed to be both standardised and adaptable, making it possible to tailor them to the trainees’ proficiency levels. This uniform and standardised training process enhances the quality of learning and eliminates the need for extensive on-site exposure over several years. By immersing participants in lifelike and demanding scenarios using highly realistic simulations, we foster experiential learning, enabling primary healthcare teams to engage with virtual patients. During these simulations, participants learn how to effectively manage stress and independently care for the patient. They can explore their emotions and fears in a safe environment, acquiring the tools to confront and conquer them (15).
Obtaining informed consent can be challenging when using real patients for training, especially for invasive or risky procedures. Simulations eliminate this ethical concern since they involve consenting individuals who are aware of the simulated nature of the scenario. Simulations also ensure the confidentiality of patients’ medical records and personal information, as no real patients are involved. This maintains patient privacy and adheres to ethical standards.
Simulations can replicate rare or complex medical cases that medical students or professionals may not encounter frequently in their clinical practice. This exposure helps them build expertise in handling such cases ethically.
Simulations provide the opportunity to create highly realistic, interactive environments in which students can learn experientially in ways that would not be ethical or appropriate in real life (16).
Simulations can help ensure that all medical students and professionals have equal access to high-quality training experiences, regardless of their background or location. This promotes equity and fairness in medical education, aligning with ethical principles of justice.
Successful implementation of IPC depends on several factors, one of which is also the need to educate primary care teams to work, despite the diversity of their members’ backgrounds and training (17). There is a need to implement interprofessional education, which fosters effective communication and collaboration among team members with varying skill sets and knowledge.
One successful method of interprofessional education in primary care is education with simulations.
Such education not only improves clinical skills but also enhances team dynamics and confidence, translating into better performance in real-life scenarios. Therefore, we suggest implementing interprofessional education with simulations in the form of an obligatory curriculum in the field of healthcare education, including that provided for undergraduates and postgraduates, as well as part of continuous professional development.