Abstract

Hazards of hospitalization are costly and can prolong hospital stays, cause suffering, and even result in death. Medical and nursing students may not be aware of these hazards and may not be involved in quality-improvement projects to reduce them. An interprofessional curriculum on the hazards of hospitalization was taught to graduating medical and nursing students using a "Room of Horrors" (ROH), a simulation in which students are asked to identify safety hazards (e.g., risk factors for spread of infection, hospital-acquired conditions, and medication administration errors). Students completed two Room of Horrors excursions, first as individuals and then in interprofessional teams. Among nursing versus medical students, differences in the frequencies of identified hazards were calculated. Overall, identification of hazards was low for both groups. Nursing students were more likely to identify malfunctioning equipment, while medical students were more likely to identify medication issues. Hazard identification improved substantially when students worked in teams, particularly for hazards that were similar to those in the individual case. Many hazards remained unidentified in both excursions, indicating a need for further education. Given both the importance of hazards of hospitalization and the challenges that nursing and medical students had identifying them, we believe health systems should dedicate time, perhaps during new staff orientation, to provide training on this matter. Our results suggest that these curricula should be offered both individually and for interprofessional teams and should include an evidence-based debrief following the simulation event.

Author Details

Margie Molloy, DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE; Alison Clay, MD

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Lead Author Affiliation

International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL)

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Simulation, Interprofessional, Hazards of Hospitalization, Immersive

Conference Name

INACSL Conference 2017

Conference Host

INACSL

Conference Location

Washington, D.C., USA

Conference Year

2017

Rights Holder

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All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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"Room of horrors": Engaging interprofessional students in a hazards of hospitalization simulation

Washington, D.C., USA

Hazards of hospitalization are costly and can prolong hospital stays, cause suffering, and even result in death. Medical and nursing students may not be aware of these hazards and may not be involved in quality-improvement projects to reduce them. An interprofessional curriculum on the hazards of hospitalization was taught to graduating medical and nursing students using a "Room of Horrors" (ROH), a simulation in which students are asked to identify safety hazards (e.g., risk factors for spread of infection, hospital-acquired conditions, and medication administration errors). Students completed two Room of Horrors excursions, first as individuals and then in interprofessional teams. Among nursing versus medical students, differences in the frequencies of identified hazards were calculated. Overall, identification of hazards was low for both groups. Nursing students were more likely to identify malfunctioning equipment, while medical students were more likely to identify medication issues. Hazard identification improved substantially when students worked in teams, particularly for hazards that were similar to those in the individual case. Many hazards remained unidentified in both excursions, indicating a need for further education. Given both the importance of hazards of hospitalization and the challenges that nursing and medical students had identifying them, we believe health systems should dedicate time, perhaps during new staff orientation, to provide training on this matter. Our results suggest that these curricula should be offered both individually and for interprofessional teams and should include an evidence-based debrief following the simulation event.