Nursing (ADN, BSN, MSN/NP)
Practice ISBARR handoffs, escalation of client concerns, and read-back with faculty-led feedback.
Interprofessional education
Interprofessional Simulation for Health Professions Programs
For health-professions deans, program directors, simulation-center leaders, and IPE coordinators: plan faculty-led ISBARR communication practice across nursing, medicine, physician assistant, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, PT/OT, social work, and other health professions programs.
Built on nursing simulation experience, SimPhone Pro offers a communication practice layer that complements your existing labs, manikins, and faculty expertise. Explore how it can fit your institution’s interprofessional education goals.
Faculty-led practice
ISBARR communication
Shared learning goals
Different roles. Shared communication.
Who It’s For
A shared communication framework can connect learners across health professions without replacing discipline-specific teaching. These illustrative use cases help faculty plan ISBARR practice in SimPhone Pro; select scenarios, roles, and assessment criteria appropriate to each program’s scope of practice.
Medical (MD/DO)
Rehearse concise consultations and communicate a proposed care plan while clarifying input from other disciplines.
Physician Assistant
Practice assessment summaries, consultation requests, and clear follow-up responsibilities during simulated care transitions.
Pharmacy
Communicate medication-related concerns and recommendations, then confirm the team’s understanding of the next step.
Respiratory Therapy
Report respiratory assessment findings and explain when a change in a client’s condition requires escalation.
Physical Therapy
Share mobility findings, safety concerns, and rehabilitation recommendations with the simulated care team.
Occupational Therapy
Communicate functional assessment findings and coordinate recommendations for daily activities and discharge planning.
Speech-Language Pathology
Practice communicating swallowing or communication concerns and clarifying recommendations with other team members.
Dietetics/Nutrition
Present nutrition assessment findings and collaborate on care recommendations within a faculty-designed scenario.
Social Work
Communicate psychosocial concerns, advocate for client preferences, and coordinate resources during care transitions.
Paramedic/EMS
Rehearse concise prehospital handoffs, communicate time-sensitive findings, and confirm transfer of responsibility.
Radiologic Technology
Practice communicating examination readiness, client safety concerns, and coordination needs within professional scope.
Medical Laboratory Science
Rehearse reporting critical results and specimen concerns, including recipient confirmation and read-back.
Health Administration/Case Management
Practice coordinating transitions, clarifying responsibilities, and communicating barriers to a shared care plan.
Communicate With the Whole Team
Effective communication extends beyond nurse-to-physician calls. Build learning activities around the expertise each profession brings to a shared client concern, with faculty guiding role expectations and debriefing.
One client. A connected care team.
Illustrative learning roles
Clinical care
- Nursing (ADN, BSN, MSN/NP)
- Medical (MD/DO)
- Physician Assistant
- Pharmacy
- Respiratory Therapy
- Paramedic/EMS
Rehabilitation
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech-Language Pathology
Diagnostics
- Radiologic Technology
- Medical Laboratory Science
Care coordination
- Dietetics/Nutrition
- Social Work
- Health Administration/Case Management
1. Structure the message
Use Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, and Read-back to organize relevant information and a clear request.
2. Choose the right recipient
Identify whose role and expertise match the concern. Explain the reason for contacting that profession and clarify when another team member should be involved.
3. Match the channel to urgency
Practice non-urgent messages versus urgent phone calls using faculty-defined escalation expectations. In real care, follow local protocols; urgent concerns should not wait for a message reply.
4. Close the loop
Confirm receipt and understanding, use read-back where appropriate, and clarify who will act, what will happen next, and when to follow up.
Intentional learning. Faculty oversight.
Support Your Interprofessional Education Goals
SimPhone Pro supports structured communication practice and AI-assisted ISBARR scoring for faculty review. Faculty set learning objectives, facilitate debriefing, and determine how evidence fits each program’s requirements. They can design activities to support the IPEC Core Competencies, especially Communication and Teams and Teamwork; an ISBARR score is not a complete measure of interprofessional competence.
Interprofessional Communication
Practice clear, respectful language, active listening, and confirmation of understanding. In the 2023 IPEC framework, this competency area is titled Communication. Debrief how learners adapted information for colleagues with different professional perspectives.
Teams and Teamwork
Use shared goals, explicit responsibilities, and coordinated next steps to explore team functioning. Ask learners to reflect on when they sought another profession’s expertise and how they resolved uncertainty together.
Role clarification and respectful advocacy can also connect activities to Roles and Responsibilities and Values and Ethics. Faculty choose the relevant competencies and evaluate them through observation and reflection; an ISBARR score alone does not establish IPEC competency attainment.
IPE events
Use a shared case to let learners from two or more professions learn with, from, and about one another. Define roles, communication objectives, and faculty facilitation before the activity.
Cross-program simulation days
Connect communication practice to an existing lab scenario. Ask learners to explain their discipline’s contribution, hand off relevant findings, and debrief how the team reached a shared understanding.
Program and accreditation evidence
Combine faculty-reviewed communication reports with your own objectives, observation rubrics, and debrief reflections. Faculty must determine whether the evidence meets each profession’s program and accreditor requirements.
For nursing-specific curriculum guidance, explore our Academic resources and nursing accreditation evidence guide.
Help Your Leadership Team Plan Cross-Program Simulation
Bring your participating disciplines, cohort size, learning objectives, and simulation schedule. Deans and program directors can discuss institutional licensing, simulation leaders can explore integration with existing labs, and IPE coordinators can plan faculty roles and shared learning activities.
For educational simulation only, not for real clinical care.