The Northeast Texas Community College Health Sciences department held its first interdisciplinary simulation that combined Medical Assisting, Nursing, Medical Lab Technician, and Physical Therapist Assistant students October 18†in the Medical Assisting and Simulation Labs.
Students moved through a ?real world? patient scenario that incorporated the full healthcare team.
"Treating patients is not the sole function of one department or one field. Ensuring the wellbeing of the patient in all aspects of the healing process involves a multidisciplinary approach,"†Dr. Tawny Nix, Director of the NTCC Medical Assisting Program, said.
Beginning with the Medical Assistant (MA) discipline, the patient, a theatre student, Nathan Johnson, arrived at the clinic complaining of weakness, right-sided hand numbness and a headache. The Administrative MA checked the patient into the office, verifying demographic information then assisted the patient to the examination room, where the Clinical MA performed a physical assessment.
It was determined that the patient might be having a stroke, and a FAST assessment was performed. The patient was then admitted to a hospital-based emergency setting, where Nursing students treated the patient, a high fidelity manikin in Sim Lab. They started IVs, administered medications, and monitored vital signs. Medical Laboratory Technology students obtained blood and other specimens for analysis and diagnostics.
"This was a great way for all of our departments to work together to really show our students how they will interact with each other in a real clinical setting,"†Dr. Shannon Cox-Kelly, Dean of Health Sciences, said.†"It was a wonderful learning opportunity for our students."
The Simulation was concluded as Physical Therapist Assistant students implemented the appropriate intervention based upon the initial evaluation, provided to them by their supervising Physical Therapist. The intervention was performed on student worker, Bree McAdams, and consisted of bed mobility strategies, instruction in sitting and standing transfers, as well as gait training with appropriate assistive device to improve physical mobility and to return the patient to normal activities and a better quality of life.
During the simulation, the students interacted and observed other Health Science students, providing them with a better understanding of the scope of each profession. The goals of this interdisciplinary simulation were to provide all health science students with knowledge and understanding of the responsibilities of individual healthcare team members; to break down communication barriers while building interpersonal team relationships; to reduce errors in real world application; and most importantly, to improve patient care outcomes.
To learn more about Health Science programs at NTCC, visit ntcc.edu/healthscience.
