Interprofessional training for CSU healthcare students

Nursing, athletic training and physician assistant students wrapped up the fall semester at Charleston Southern University by participating in two days of interprofessional training exercises.

College of Nursing instructor Karen Arnold reminded students that learning to format information in a classroom setting is easy compared to getting everything down in a hurry in a real healthcare situation.

CSU students studying for healthcare professions are comfortable in clinical settings and practice simulations on a regular basis. The interprofessional training exercises were designed to give each group practice in working as a healthcare team. Using SBAR, a communication technique often used by healthcare teams, Arnold walked the students through the Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation information for a patient. She showed each group how the information would be used in a healthcare setting. 

Arnold said, “Nurses, you are the eyes and ears in a situation, and the provider needs you to assess what is needed.” In a simulation of an asthma attack, Arnold reminded physician assistant students that nurses will be calling them to issue an order for oxygen because nurses are not allowed to administer oxygen without a provider’s order.

Dr. Skylar Stewart-Clark, assistant professor in the physician assistant program, walked students through a scenario with a nonresponsive football player with a possible opioid overdose. Beginning with the athletic trainer on site, Stewart-Clark focused on how healthcare professionals would work with each other.

Hoping to educate nurses and physician assistants on what athletic trainers bring to the medical field, Dr. Brian Smith, director of the athletic training program, urged nursing and physician assistant students who are dealing with an athlete who has come into the ER to ask the EMT if an athletic trainer was on site. 

Athletic trainers provide their contact information to EMTs to give to the ER medical team and can provide vital information about the athlete. In some instances, athletic trainers accompany the athlete to the medical facility. 

During each exercise, students were encouraged to ask questions and give feedback on how they would handle their specific duty in the situation. 

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