The Design and Impact of an Interprofessional Education Event Among Pharmacy and Nursing Students in Palliative Care-RnRx

A Systematic Review of Interprofessional Palliative Care Education Programs

CONTEXT

Interprofessional education (IPE) involving palliative and end-of-life content benefits learners by addressing interprofessional and palliative care (PC) competency needs.

OBJECTIVES

A synthesis of educational approaches promoting interprofessional PC in academic and clinical settings would address research gaps and promote effective teaching.

METHODS

A systematic review of interprofessional PC educational studies was conducted to summarize current approaches in PC IPE and to appraise teaching and research methods. Characteristics of excellence in interprofessional PC education established by Donesky et al. served as a framework for evaluating studies in this systematic review.

RESULTS

A total of 39 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Learners from medicine and nursing were the most included professions. University programs represented most studies, and evaluation methods demonstrated achievement of mostly self-reported outcomes like learner attitude and self-efficacy. While the effect of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes is well-documented, the effect of IPE on PC delivery is not. Although content spanned all interprofessional and PC domains, few studies addressed cultural aspects and fewer addressed well-being for the care provider.

CONCLUSION

In light of the current healthcare landscape, there is an imminent need to address culture and provider well-being more directly through interprofessional PC education. Education and research must also move beyond university programs into health systems to support the professional development of clinicians for systems integration, sustainability, and impact on patient outcomes. Future evaluation of interprofessional PC education would be strengthened by multisite studies, randomized controlled trials, and repeated measures looking at outcomes over time.

Education without walls: Using a street medicine program to provide real-world interprofessional learning

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a core component of the curricula for many healthcare and social work training programs and has been shown to increase student self-efficacy, communication skills, and attitudes toward other professions. Street medicine programs expand options for teaching interprofessional, team-based care of vulnerable populations, such as those experiencing homelessness. Street Medicine Phoenix is an interprofessional team of health professions students and faculty that provides outreach to Phoenix's homeless population. This study demonstrates the impact of volunteering in our street medicine program on the perceived development of interprofessional skills and behaviors. Volunteer teams, with representatives from medicine, nursing, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health, and undergraduate studies, completed the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) before and after semester-long, monthly outreach events. Results demonstrate statistically significant improvements in overall ICCAS scores for all volunteers, but there was no relationship between number of shifts completed and ICCAS score improvement. Based on these findings, street medicine programs could be considered as an option for providing interprofessional learning to students in healthcare and social work degree programs. Street medicine outreach can supplement didactic and simulation skill-building activities in the IPE curricula with point of care, real-world experiential learning.

Integrating Palliative Care into Nursing Care

ABSTRACT

The need for palliative care in our health care system has exponentially increased in the past few years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aging population, and the increasing number of people living with serious illnesses. While nurses play a critical role in delivering palliative care, many lack confidence and knowledge, causing practice gaps in the clinical and psychological management of seriously ill patients. The collective burden of the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of palliative care education and training, specifically in communication, symptom management, and continuing education. All nurses, including nursing students, transitioning nurses, and practicing nurses, should be trained to offer generalist (or primary) palliative care, in accordance with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. Provision of holistic, relationship-based, and integrated palliative care for patients and their families is an ethical obligation for all nurses.

Exploring the Efficacy of a Virtual First Year Interprofessional Education Event

Interprofessional education (IPE) activities are utilized in health education programs to develop interprofessional collaboration (IPC) competencies. All first-year healthcare students at three postsecondary learning institutions attend a mandatory introductory IPE event annually. During the 2020/2021 academic year, the event was moved from a face-to-face activity to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This study examined whether the virtual IPE activity was effective in supporting the development of interprofessional competencies for first-year healthcare students. Two hundred and six students attended a synchronous didactic presentation on IPE competencies and discussed a simulated case in interprofessional groups of eight students and two faculty facilitators. The Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) was used to measure the students’ opinions on interprofessional competencies. Paired t-tests were used to compare the pre- and post-scores. One hundred and nine (52.9% response rate) students completed the survey. Surveys from 99 students with matched pre- and post-scores were included in the study. The ICCAS competencies showed improvements (p < 0.05) in all of the students’ self-reported IPE competencies following the activity compared to before the training. Our findings indicate that the virtual IPE activity is effective in facilitating the development of IPC for first-year healthcare students.