Improving Adolescent Psychosocial Assessment through Standardized Patient Simulation: An Interdisciplinary Quality Improvement Initiative

Laura Monahan (), Colleen L. Eaves, Joshua C. Watson, Jordi Friese, Lisa McKenna and Erika Estrada-Ibarra
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Laura Monahan: Department of Population Health Nursing Science, College of Nursing, Rockford Campus, University of Illinois Chicago, 1601 Parkview Avenue, Rockford, IL 61107, USA
Colleen L. Eaves: Driscoll Children’s Hospital, 3533 S Alameda Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78411, USA
Joshua C. Watson: Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, College of Education, Texas A&M University, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
Jordi Friese: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Drive, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
Lisa McKenna: Driscoll Children’s Hospital, 3533 S Alameda Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78411, USA
Erika Estrada-Ibarra: School of Nursing, John Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Adolescent suicide and mental illness have increased at alarming rates. Healthcare professionals report a lack of skill and confidence in obtaining adolescent histories and managing confidential care due to limited training in residency. Nursing professional development practitioners face challenges of adequately preparing interdisciplinary healthcare providers to assess, identify, and intervene at all points of contact with adolescents. To increase the confidence in clinical communication skills and clinical competency, and to increase the number of social work referrals related to modifiable risk factors for adolescent patients, a Texas pediatric tertiary care center utilized standardized patient (SP) methodology to supplement traditional clinical experiences with communication-focused education based on the Home, Education, Eating, Activities, Drugs, Sexuality, Suicidality, and Safety (HEEADSSS) interviewing. This quality improvement (QI) pilot demonstrated the benefits of utilizing standardized patient methodology in communication-focused education based on the HEEADSSS interviewing. Following the SP simulations, confidence in clinical communication skills increased by 13%, clinical competency in performing comprehensive psychosocial interviews increased by 11%, use of HEEADSSS increased by 64%, and social work referrals increased by 89%. This interdisciplinary SP interviewing simulation pilot was beneficial in improving the 36 physician and nursing residents’ ability to conduct psychosocial assessments for risk factors of suicidality among adolescents.

Keywords: adolescent; suicide; interdisciplinary; interprofessional education; clinical education strategies; patient simulations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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