Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Among Teacher Education, Health and Social Care Students in a Large Scaled Blended Learning Course

Effectiveness and learning experience from undergraduate nursing students in surgical nursing skills course: a quasi- experimental study about blended learning

BACKGROUND

Blended learning is increasingly being adopted, and yet a gap remains in the related literature pertaining to its skill performance, learning engagement and inner experience in undergraduate surgical nursing skills course.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the changes in skills performance and learning engagement in the application of blended learning, and what it actually brings to nursing students.

DESIGN

The study uses a historical control, two-armed, mixed and quasi-experimental design.

METHODS

The blended learning version of the course was offered to the 2019 class of 334 nursing undergraduates. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected after the course to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the course effects compared with the 304 nursing undergraduates of grade 2017 who adapted traditional learning. Quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS 26.0, and qualitative data were encoded using Nvivo11.0.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in skill performance and learning engagement between the class of 2017 and 2019 (p < 0.001). Combined with further analysis of the interview data, 3 first-level nodes and 8 secondary nodes were determined. Students' opinions, comments and suggestions on the application of blended learning are refreshing.

CONCLUSION

Moving forward with blended learning: opportunities and challenges go hand in hand. Researchers need to continually modify their research designs to respond to variable educational environments.

Interprofessional nursing education and the role of swift trust and task conflict in team creativity: the mediating role of team interactive behaviors

PURPOSE

This paper aims to explore the impact of interprofessional healthcare collaboration among nurses on patient healthcare services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Data were gathered through a randomly distributed questionnaire (N = 248), constructed using established scales or the variables under study. The sample consisted of nurses and patients from various hospitals and clinics across the UAE. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 28) and Amos (Version 29) software, employing factor analysis, reliability testing and mediation analysis.

FINDINGS

The study reveals a positive relationship between swift trust (ST) and its dimensions with both team interactive behavior (TIB) and nurse team creativity (TC). TIB was found to significantly mediate the effect of ST on TC. Additionally, based on closed-ended questions, a positive correlation was observed between team task conflict (TTC) and TC. However, no significant impact of TTC on nurse TC was identified through open-ended questions.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This research presents a unique analysis of the influence of interprofessional collaboration on patient healthcare services in the UAE, offering valuable insights for policy improvement by enhancing nursing conditions. Furthermore, the study contributes to the existing literature by examining the relationship between ST, TIB, TTC and TC.

Formation of Interpersonal Competencies Through Interprofessional Simulation: Nursing and Medicine

AIM

The aim of this study was to analyze the process of interpersonal competencies formation in nursing and medical students who participated in a standardized interprofessional clinical simulation.

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education in health sciences has had an important impact on the development of relational qualities centered on the patient.

METHOD

The study followed a qualitative interpretive approach with students. Students who participated in clinical simulation activities were asked about their experiences and their learning process with respect to interpersonal competencies. A thematic analysis of the data was performed.

RESULTS

Three themes emerged: 1) approaching the practice with uncertainty and fear of new relationships, 2) reflecting on decisions while recognizing distinctive roles, and 3) recognizing the human sense of practice while developing skills for caring and curing.

CONCLUSION

Students underwent this process and learned about empathy, communication, critical reflexive thinking, and teamwork.

Multidisciplinary Student Groups Support Digital Education as a Public Health Precautional Action to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 Infection: A Mixed Methods Study

Background

Health personnel had greater odds of contracting COVID-19 during its first wave in Norway, compared with all working-age individuals. Students in health care, but also in social care and teacher education programs may be exposed to the risk of being infected themselves and to infect others through their mandatory practical training. Online education may reduce their risk of becoming patients and spreaders both in their private lives and during their mandatory training.

Aim

To explore the extent to which unvaccinated professional students fear transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from fellow students and from public transportation during the third wave.

Materials and Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 3148 students in health care, social care, and teacher education programs and 32 supervisors completed online questionnaires consisting of open and closed questions (mixed methods) after participating in digital interprofessional learning (IPL) small-group seminars (49.6% and 65% response rates, respectively). On a 6-point Likert scale (0–5), all means concerning fear were around 3, with overlapping confidence intervals. Fear of infecting high-risk individuals seemed higher than fear of contracting the virus themselves. High levels of loyalty to and trust in state and health authorities were expressed. Medical-related terminology was frequently used, such as the one-meter distance rule, infection tracking, national guidelines, and hand sanitizer, which implies high levels of health literacy. They expressed strong support for online course delivery (mean 4.5) ahead of practical training as a precautionary public health action.

Conclusion

These students did not have high levels of fear of contracting the virus from other students or public transport. They expressed a higher fear of infecting others than being infected themselves. The major implication for the public and the educational system is that students, even in a country with low death rates, support digital education as a public health precautional action to prevent the spread of infection.

A Gap Between Children's Rights and Curricular Content in Health, Social Care, and Teacher Education Programs: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION

Exposure to child maltreatment is a social and public health challenge that will require interprofessional collaboration to overcome. Evidence indicates that professional students in health, social care, and teacher education programs receive inadequate training in recognizing and responding to child maltreatment. The aims are to 1) assess the extent to which these students found that their uniprofessional education and a large-scale interprofessional learning (IPL) course had taught them about children in general, children's rights, and vulnerable/at-risk children; and 2) explore differences in student responses according to age and educational background.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study. Students (n=2811) completed questionnaires prior to or after IPL courses held in 2019 and 2020 (hybrid case-based, small-group, on-campus courses targeting children, young people, and their families as end users).

FINDINGS

The majority (>90%) agreed that it was important to learn about child-related topics. Only 4.3% disagreed that it was important to learn about vulnerable/at-risk children. Health and social care students enhanced their insight into all the child-related topics (p<0.001) after the IPL course. Teacher education and child welfare students reported decreased insight into children in general (p<0.001 in 2019 and p=0.008 in 2020) but increased insight into vulnerable/at-risk children in 2020 (p=0.001). According to stratified analyses, there was a significantly increased insight into all child-related topics among physiotherapy and Mensendieck physiotherapy students (p<0.001), decreased insight into children in general among teacher education students (p<0.02), and increased insight into vulnerable/at-risk children among teacher education students (p ≤ 0.001) in both 2019 and 2020. Age was of minor importance. The response rates ranged from 16.0% to 36.0%.

CONCLUSION

After the IPL course, the health and social care students significantly enhanced their insight into child-related topics, whereas the students in teacher education and child welfare gained increased insight into vulnerable/at-risk children.

Children as Next of Kin in Higher Education: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study Among Health, Social Care, and Teacher Education Programs

INTRODUCTION

Children who are "next of kin" (ie, sick/dying/addicted/imprisoned close relatives) are at increased risk for health consequences. Health professionals in Norway are required by law to help such children, and professional educations should focus on this issue.

AIM

To assess the extent to which students attending health, social care, and teacher education felt their uni-professional education and a mandatory interprofessional learning (IPL) course had taught them about children as next of kin. To explore variations in student responses according to age and educational background.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study. Students (n = 2811) completed questionnaires relating to IPL courses delivered in 2019 and 2020 (hybrid case-based learning). Students discussed issues relating to interprofessional collaboration targeting children, young people and their families in small IPL groups.

FINDINGS

The response rates ranged from 25.8% to 36.0%. All but 5.2% of the students agreed that it was important to learn about children as next of kin. Although 61.9% reported that their education had not taught about such children, 73.8% had gained increased insight from the IPL course (difference 35.7% 95% CI (29.0; 42.0), p < 0.001). The teacher and child welfare students had gained greater insight than the health and social care students. Significant pre- to post-course increases were found among the physiotherapy (p < 0.001), Mensendieck physiotherapy (p < 0.001), teacher education (p < 0.001), early childhood education (p < 0.001), and teacher education in art and design (p = 0.042) students.

CONCLUSION

Nearly 2/3 reported that they had not been taught about children as next of kin at their own educations, but more than 2/3 had gained greater insight from the IPL course. The health and social care students reported the least gain. Although the law has existed for a decade, the topic of children as next of kin is still omitted from most educational programs.