Original Article
Translating innovation: Exploring dissemination of a unique case conference

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2016.12.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Background/Purpose

As interprofessional education in clinical teaching settings continues to develop and workplace learning becomes more ubiquitous, early adopters will need to disseminate training innovations to diverse sites and programs. It is important for these sites to have a framework to understand and organize dissemination.

Methods

This study evaluated the dissemination process of a case conference across four geographically diverse sites. The dissemination process was evaluated using the RE-AIM framework with a multi-method evaluation that included trainee-level surveys, patient-level data, and semi-structured interviews with faculty members at all sites.

Results

The conference was disseminated effectively and with similar patient and trainee-level outcomes.

Conclusion

Suggestions for future dissemination projects include providing basic process and structural guidelines, allowing site-specific flexibly of implementation, providing a process for site-based evaluation (trainee, patient, and system level), and scheduling a check in call to discuss successes and troubleshoot challenges.

Section snippets

Methods

This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Boards at all five sites.

Reach

Exposure varied across sites based upon the frequency of the case conference. Based upon a review of the number of trainees from the four dissemination sites, trainee involvement in PACT-ICU varied from 23% to 100%. Each site has consistent involvement of physician, nurse practitioner, and psychology trainees.

One site spoke to the tension of wanting to include as many trainees as possible, including those with no connection to the cases discussed, versus, inclusion of only trainees and staff

Discussion

PACT-ICU is an interprofessional case conference that provides enhanced workplace learning for interprofessional trainees and has been effectively disseminated across geographically diverse sites. Evaluation using the RE-AIM framework14 identified both conference-specific and broader educational dissemination findings. Specific to PACT-ICU, trainee-level and patient-level improvements across the dissemination sites were consistent with the foundation site, suggesting fidelity across the sites.

Conclusion

The development of a unique interprofessional case conference, PACT-ICU, was successfully disseminated to four sites, and maintained at three sites, with similar educational and patient level outcomes, suggesting fidelity of the implementation process. This review revealed components of the conference that were exportable to dissemination sites and added to the broader research of educational dissemination. Four aspects of education dissemination were highlighted and discussed within the

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