Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment

Background Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is vital for delivering safe, holistic patient care, particularly in outpatient interventional pain clinics where precision and teamwork are crucial. Despite its importance, IPC within outpatient pain medicine remains understudied, and the Readiness f...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John Mekail, Ysaac Zegeye, Quinn Lanners, Muhammad Farooq Anwar, Peter K Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-05-01
Series:BMJ Open Quality
Online Access:https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003199.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850273989858951168
author John Mekail
Ysaac Zegeye
Quinn Lanners
Muhammad Farooq Anwar
Peter K Yi
author_facet John Mekail
Ysaac Zegeye
Quinn Lanners
Muhammad Farooq Anwar
Peter K Yi
author_sort John Mekail
collection DOAJ
description Background Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is vital for delivering safe, holistic patient care, particularly in outpatient interventional pain clinics where precision and teamwork are crucial. Despite its importance, IPC within outpatient pain medicine remains understudied, and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) has not been used longitudinally in outpatient pain medicine.Objectives The primary objective of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate and enhance readiness for interprofessional learning among clinical staff in an outpatient pain clinic, measured over 6 months in an outpatient pain clinic.Methods This initiative took place from October 2021 to April 2022 in an academic institution’s hospital-based outpatient pain clinic. We administered the RIPLS survey to 15 participants of various clinical roles at baseline and again 6 months after a simulation-based intervention. The simulation included small group didactic sessions and immersive clinical scenarios depicting acute complications in interventional pain procedures. We used descriptive statistics to compare preintervention and postintervention survey responses, stratifying by professional role. Qualitative feedback was collected to explore participants’ perceptions of the training and its impact.Results Both physician and non-physician groups reported high baseline RIPLS scores, with no statistically significant difference between or within groups over 6 months. Although mean RIPLS scores did not significantly change, participants consistently described positive attitudes towards collaborative practice. Qualitative feedback underscored the importance of structured simulation for reinforcing team roles, communication strategies and crisis management skills.Conclusion This project demonstrates that simulation-based training can sustain high levels of interprofessional readiness among outpatient pain clinic staff over time, suggesting utility for maintaining collaborative behaviours in a setting where safety and teamwork are paramount. Future efforts could investigate whether similar interventions improve IPC in clinics with lower baseline readiness, as well as explore longer follow-up periods or larger sample sizes to detect nuanced changes in collaboration metrics.
format Article
id doaj-art-c3ee8fb171b7406fac3397b2c55c19fe
institution OA Journals
issn 2399-6641
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open Quality
spelling doaj-art-c3ee8fb171b7406fac3397b2c55c19fe2025-08-20T01:51:16ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412025-05-0114210.1136/bmjoq-2024-003199Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessmentJohn Mekail0Ysaac Zegeye1Quinn Lanners2Muhammad Farooq Anwar3Peter K Yi4Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, USADuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USABiostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USAAnesthesiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USAAnesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, USABackground Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is vital for delivering safe, holistic patient care, particularly in outpatient interventional pain clinics where precision and teamwork are crucial. Despite its importance, IPC within outpatient pain medicine remains understudied, and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) has not been used longitudinally in outpatient pain medicine.Objectives The primary objective of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate and enhance readiness for interprofessional learning among clinical staff in an outpatient pain clinic, measured over 6 months in an outpatient pain clinic.Methods This initiative took place from October 2021 to April 2022 in an academic institution’s hospital-based outpatient pain clinic. We administered the RIPLS survey to 15 participants of various clinical roles at baseline and again 6 months after a simulation-based intervention. The simulation included small group didactic sessions and immersive clinical scenarios depicting acute complications in interventional pain procedures. We used descriptive statistics to compare preintervention and postintervention survey responses, stratifying by professional role. Qualitative feedback was collected to explore participants’ perceptions of the training and its impact.Results Both physician and non-physician groups reported high baseline RIPLS scores, with no statistically significant difference between or within groups over 6 months. Although mean RIPLS scores did not significantly change, participants consistently described positive attitudes towards collaborative practice. Qualitative feedback underscored the importance of structured simulation for reinforcing team roles, communication strategies and crisis management skills.Conclusion This project demonstrates that simulation-based training can sustain high levels of interprofessional readiness among outpatient pain clinic staff over time, suggesting utility for maintaining collaborative behaviours in a setting where safety and teamwork are paramount. Future efforts could investigate whether similar interventions improve IPC in clinics with lower baseline readiness, as well as explore longer follow-up periods or larger sample sizes to detect nuanced changes in collaboration metrics.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003199.full
spellingShingle John Mekail
Ysaac Zegeye
Quinn Lanners
Muhammad Farooq Anwar
Peter K Yi
Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
BMJ Open Quality
title Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
title_full Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
title_fullStr Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
title_full_unstemmed Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
title_short Improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation: a longitudinal Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale assessment
title_sort improving interprofessional collaboration in pain clinics through simulation a longitudinal readiness for interprofessional learning scale assessment
url https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003199.full
work_keys_str_mv AT johnmekail improvinginterprofessionalcollaborationinpainclinicsthroughsimulationalongitudinalreadinessforinterprofessionallearningscaleassessment
AT ysaaczegeye improvinginterprofessionalcollaborationinpainclinicsthroughsimulationalongitudinalreadinessforinterprofessionallearningscaleassessment
AT quinnlanners improvinginterprofessionalcollaborationinpainclinicsthroughsimulationalongitudinalreadinessforinterprofessionallearningscaleassessment
AT muhammadfarooqanwar improvinginterprofessionalcollaborationinpainclinicsthroughsimulationalongitudinalreadinessforinterprofessionallearningscaleassessment
AT peterkyi improvinginterprofessionalcollaborationinpainclinicsthroughsimulationalongitudinalreadinessforinterprofessionallearningscaleassessment