Using simulation to explore medical students’ understanding of integrated care within geriatrics

Background Given the increasing evidence and expansion of integrated care (IC) in healthcare, new IC curricula introduced early in undergraduate medical education (UME) are needed. Building on a pilot IC simulation called “Getting to Know Patients’ System of Care” (GPS-Care), we aimed to explore students’ understanding of patients’ complex physical and mental health needs, and to increase our understanding of how students learned in this simulation. Methods 177 of 259 first-year medical students participated in GPS-Care at the University of Toronto. Students role-played an elderly patient or caregiver within 5 simulated healthcare professional appointments. Students completed written reflections and 7 students participated in one-on-one interviews. A thematic analysis of the reflections and transcripts was conducted and descriptive data was generated for questionnaires. Results Data saturation was reached at 43 reflections and 7 transcripts and the following themes emerged: a) students reflected on patients’ complex care experiences, b) students reflected on of the healthcare system needs care, c) students increased understanding of IC, and d) students desire to improve the care of IC patients within the healthcare system. Conclusions In addition to confirming previous pilot study themes, the results from this study identified the role of productive struggle to provide students with a deeper understanding of patients’ IC care needs. Moreover, GPS-Care resulted in a transformative learning experience resulting in new insights into the importance of IC early in UME training.