Background and Purpose: There is limited training for healthcare students in the performance of telephone consultations. To facilitate communication between healthcare professionals when face-to-face interactions are not possible, a telephone consultation simulation was developed. The simulation involved students in a doctor of physical therapy program and senior medical students. This study aimed to explore the development and suitability of a simulated case with a focus on interprofessional telephone consultation.
Methods: A convenience sample of 28 physical therapy students and 38 medical students from two institutions in southwest Virginia participated in the simulation experience. To assess the outcomes of the simulation on interprofessional communication, the IPASS verbal handoff assessment was performed by the participants and focus group interviews occurred immediately following the experience. In addition, an assessment of key information provided during the conversation was performed for each of the seven interprofessional groups.
Results: Students demonstrated near perfect agreement on the IPASS assessment. Five of the seven interprofessional groups perceived that they were able to communicate key information and collectively agree upon a recommendation for the continuation of the patient assessment. The two groups that demonstrated more difficulty with communication appeared to struggle with communicating the patient’s past medical history relevant to the current situation, despite the majority of students feeling confident in their communications. In addition, two themes were presented during the interprofessional focus group interviews: 1) clear communication to maintain patient safety and 2) efficiently conveying the patient’s background.
Discussion: The health professions students participating in the scenario were able to consistently note the communication skills observed and reflect upon the need for clear communication between providers during a patient consultation. Key components of an efficient telephone consultation were identified, along with opportunities to improve this type of interaction between health professionals.

Keywords: telephone medicine, interprofessional education, interprofessional clinical consultation, communication skills


中文翻译：

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评估电话咨询的跨专业学习经验

背景和目的：对医疗保健学生进行电话咨询的培训有限。为了在无法进行面对面互动时促进医疗保健专业人员之间的沟通，开发了电话咨询模拟。模拟涉及物理治疗博士项目的学生和高级医学生。本研究旨在探讨以跨专业电话咨询为重点的模拟案例的发展和适用性。
方法：来自弗吉尼亚州西南部两个机构的 28 名物理治疗学生和 38 名医学生的便利样本参与了模拟体验。为了评估跨专业交流模拟的结果，参与者进行了 IPASS 口头交接评估，并在体验后立即进行了焦点小组访谈。此外，对七个跨专业组中的每一个都进行了对话期间提供的关键信息的评估。
结果：学生们对 IPASS 评估表现出近乎完美的一致性。七个跨专业小组中有五个认为他们能够传达关键信息并集体同意继续进行患者评估的建议。尽管大多数学生对他们的沟通充满信心​​，但在沟通方面表现出更多困难的两组似乎难以沟通患者过去与当前情况相关的病史。此外，跨专业焦点小组访谈期间提出了两个主题：1）清晰的沟通以维护患者的安全和2）有效地传达患者的背景。
讨论：参与该场景的卫生专业学生能够始终如一地注意到观察到的沟通技巧，并反思在患者咨询期间提供者之间进行清晰沟通的必要性。确定了有效电话咨询的关键组成部分，以及改善卫生专业人员之间此类互动的机会。

关键词：电话医疗，跨专业教育，跨专业临床会诊，沟通技巧