Professional communication during inter-professional undergraduate clinical simulation : Presentation ,performance and patients response.

This learning and teaching project aimed to assess clinical reasoning and communication skills using a low-fidelity clinical simulation workshop for undergraduate students encompassing five health disciplines. Health students volunteered and consented to participate in a workshop which comprised of four inter-professional clinical simulation sessions. Each facilitated session included a theoretical case study, a group physiology and pharmacology tutorial, and a video-recorded, low-fidelity clinical experience, involving a simulated patient. The facilitator assessed each student in real-time and the patient assessed each student post-simulation. All students completed a self-evaluation of their clinical reasoning, communication skills and patient interaction post-simulation. Post-simulation, all participants contributed to a facilitated debriefing and reflection group discussion. After watching the video recording of their session, students received constructive feedback from the facilitator. Students completed a post-workshop evaluation in which they reported positive feedback resulting from the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in the clinical simulation and the personal insight they gained regarding their clinical reasoning, communication skills and collaborative interaction. Facilitator feedback identified that students struggled with data gathering, interpretation of clinical findings and the verbal reporting of these findings to their colleagues or patients. Students, who had self-identified prior experience with their profession and presented confidently to the patient, were assessed favourably by the patient. In contrast, clinical facilitator feedback identified significant deficits in student attitude and communication during interaction with their patient. The post-workshop evaluation highlighted strengths and limitations of the sessions. Overall, clinical reasoning skills were poorly developed and communication skills varied by discipline group. These sessions provided a valued learning experience for students and facilitators.