Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Communication/Collaboration Among Nursing and Allied Health Students

Lack of teamwork among health science students can be especially challenging in emergency settings. A simulated neonatal intensive care (NICU) exercise was held with nursing, radiology, and respiratory therapy students to determine if students valued interdisciplinary education and felt the experience enhanced clinical skills. A mixed methods study was conducted to determine if there was a significant difference in students' perceptions of their resuscitation and professional communication skills after the experience. A t-test addressed the following: H1: There will be an increase in students' perception of their confidence in using their professional skills in a hospital setting after the interdisciplinary communication NICU experience. H2: There will be an increase in students' perception of their ability to communicate with other disciplines after the interdisciplinary communication NICU experience. Students answered six pre-experience open-ended questions and seven post-experience open-ended questions; responses were coded, and multiple themes emerged. Students reported gaining confidence in using their skills within the hospital setting after participating in the experience and reported possessing more high quality interdisciplinary communication skills after participating in the experience. The open-ended questions indicated students valued the simulations, and they felt more prepared to interact in an interdisciplinary manner in the clinical setting. Students also desired more simulations during their education. Limitations were discrepancies in student clinical experiences, sample size, and self-reported levels of communication, skills, and teamwork abilities. This study could determine the potential need for growth and development of interdisciplinary simulation experiences within healthcare education course design and standards.