Methods

We used a mixed-methods approach with emergency medicine resident and attending physicians, Physician Assistants (PAs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), ED nurses, technicians, and security officers at two hospital sites. After a simulated agitated patient encounter, we conducted uniprofessional and interprofessional focus groups. We undertook structured thematic analysis using a grounded theory approach. Quantitative data consisted of responses to the KidSIM Questionnaire addressing teamwork and simulation-based learning attitudes before and after each session.

Results

We reached data saturation with 57 participants. KidSIM scores revealed significant improvements in attitudes toward relevance of simulation, opportunities for interprofessional education, and situation awareness, as well as four of six questions for roles/responsibilities. Two broad themes emerged from the focus groups:(1) a team-based agitated patient simulation addressed dual safety of staff and patients simultaneously and (2) the experience fostered interprofessional discovery and cooperation in agitation management.

Conclusions

A team-based simulated agitated patient encounter highlighted the need to consider the dual safety of staff and patients while facilitating interprofessional dialog and learning. Our findings suggest that simulation may be effective to enhance teamwork in behavioral emergency care.