Caring for attitudes as a means of caring for patients--improving medical, pharmacy and nursing students' attitudes to each other's professions by engaging them in interprofessional learning

Patient care, integration and collaboration of physician associates in multiprofessional teams: A mixed methods study

AIMS

The aim of the study was to explore the physician associate role in patient care, integration and collaboration with team members, within the hospital setting.

DESIGN

Convergent mixed methods case study design.

METHODS

Questionnaires with some open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews were analysed with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Participants included 12 physician associates, 31 health professionals and 14 patients/relatives. Physician associates provide effective, safe and, importantly, continuity of care and patients received patient-centred care. Integration into teams was variable, and there was a lack of knowledge about the physician associate role amongst staff and patients. Views towards physician associates were mostly positive, but support for physician associates differed across the three hospitals.

CONCLUSION

This study further consolidates the role of physician associates to multiprofessional teams and patient care and emphasises the importance of providing support to individuals and teams when integrating new professions. Interprofessional learning throughout healthcare careers can develop interprofessional working within multiprofessional teams.

IMPACT

Leaders in healthcare will see that clarity about the role of physician associates must be given to staff members and patients. Employers and team members will see the need to properly integrate new professions and team members within the workplace and to enhance professional identities. The research will also impact on educational establishments to provide more interprofessional training.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

There is no patient and public involvement.

"From doing to knowing": medical students' experiences of working as Healthcare Assistants

There is growing recognition that doctors need to deliver person-centered care. More evidence is needed on how to best equip students in an already busy curriculum. Providing medical students with the opportunity to work as Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) can help them develop the desired skills. This study examined medical students' experiences of working as HCAs and perceived impact on their future practice. Adopting an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, we analyzed narratives from two focus groups of 13 'Year 0' and 'Year 1' medical students, who had completed an HCA project. This project allowed participants to experience a new dimension of patient care whereby learning by "doing" evolved to a deeper level of "knowing" patients, the HCA role and the wider team. Four major themes were identified: seeing the doctor: gaining new perspectives; building confidence: learning from and about patients; understanding the overall patient experience: providing personal care; finding "the person behind the patient": exploring beyond the diagnosis. This study suggests that working as an HCA enables participants to develop sustainable skills that equip them for their future role as doctors able to deliver person-centered care as part of an interprofessional team. Recommendations for inclusion of this type of intervention into the medical curriculum are discussed.

Enhancing the Facilitation of Interprofessional Education Programs: An Institutional Ethnography

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among health care professionals has been identified as essential to enhance patient care. Interprofessional education (IPE) is a key strategy towards promoting IPC. Several factors including the nature of facilitation shape the IPE experience and outcomes for students. Stereotypes held by students have been recognized as a challenge for IPE and IPC. This study aimed to explore institutional rules and regulations that shape facilitators’ work in IPE interactions problematized by students’ stereotypes at a university in Atlantic Canada. Employing institutional ethnography as a method of investigation, data were collected through observations, interviews, focus groups, and written texts (such as course syllabi). Participants included three facilitators, two undergraduate nursing students, and two IPE committee members of an IPE program. Findings revealed four work processes conducted by facilitators in local IPE settings related to students’ stereotypes. These processes were shaped by translocal discourse and included the work used to form teams, facilitate student introductions to team members, facilitate team dynamics, and provide course content and context. Study results included the identification of several strategies to address student stereotypes and enhance collaboration, including directions for future curriculum decisions and the pedagogical organization of IPE.

Self-assessment, attitude and perception of interprofessional learning in hospital acquired infection control practices among health professionals in Klang Valley, Malaysia

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional learning (IPL) is a key challenge in Malaysia in incorporating the current profession-specific medical education into the interprofessional learning curriculum. Safe practices would be enhanced with improved collaboration among the health professionals when they learn with, from, and about each other. The main objective of this study was to determine the significant differences in self-assessment, attitude, and perception of interprofessional learning among doctors and nurses in a teaching hospital in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The second objective was to determine if there is any significant difference in the selected demography factors, mean and total scores between doctors and nurses in self-assessment, attitude, and perceptions of IPL aspects.

METHODS

A total of doctors (39) and nurses (37) were recruited for an interventional study on the interprofessional learning approach on hospital acquired infection control. The participants responded to the University of West England Interprofessional (UWEIP) questionnaire at baseline consisting of four dimensions in IPL aspects; Self-assessment on communication and teamwork skills (CTW), interprofessional learning (IPL), interprofessional interaction (IPI), and interprofessional relationship (IPR). The Cronbach alpha value for the total questionnaire was established at 0.79.

RESULTS

The majority of doctors scored positive in CTW, IPL, IPR, and neutral in IPI. Nurses' also recorded the highest positive scores in CTW, IPL, and IPR, and neutral in IPI. Negative scores were found in CTW and IPI. A significant difference was revealed between doctors and nurses in IPL attitude; p = 0.024 and there was no significant difference in other dimensions (p > .05). Results also found a significant difference between participants' and non-participants of IPL training sessions; p = 0.009.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed the infusion of interprofessional learning training among the health professionals displayed better self-assessments, attitudes, and perceptions towards collaborative practices.

Stereotypes among health professions in Indonesia: an explorative study

PURPOSE

Effective and efficient health services require efforts to increase collaboration among health professionals. One of the barriers to effective collaboration is stereotypes. Stereotypes represent perceptions or perspectives about a person or group of people. This study aims to explore the perceptions of health professional students and practitioners regarding stereotypes.

METHODS

This was a qualitative study using a phenomenology approach. A sample of health professions students from both preclinical and clinical stages, as well as health practitioners, was selected using a maximum variation sampling method. Primary data collection was conducted through focus group discussions. Data obtained were analyzed using thematic analysis. A total of nine focus group discussions were conducted.

RESULTS

Four themes were identified from this study, including the types of stereotypes, factors affecting stereotype formation, the implications of stereotypes, and how to overcome stereotypes. Stereotype formation was affected by the lack of understanding of other health professions' roles, hierarchical culture, personal experience in receiving healthcare, and community view. Stereotypes among health professionals created obstacles to healthcare team communication and reduced self-confidence in certain health professionals. These stereotypes may be overcome through competency development and knowledge sharing among professionals as well as through education on other health care professionals' roles and competencies so that each profession possessed similar goals for patient safety.

CONCLUSION

Both positive and negative stereotypes negatively affected collaboration. Stereotypes were greatly affected by multifactorial causes. Therefore, understanding other professions' roles and conducting interprofessional education are important to overcome stereotypes.

Attitudes of medical students towards interprofessional education: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional Education (IPE) aims to improve students' attitudes towards collaboration, teamwork, and leads to improved patient care upon graduation. However, the best time to introduce IPE into the undergraduate curriculum is still under debate.

METHODS

We used a mixed-methods design based on a sequential explanatory model. Medical students from all six years at the University of Bern, Switzerland (n = 683) completed an online survey about attitudes towards interprofessional learning using a scale validated for German speakers (G-IPAS). Thirty-one medical students participated in nine semi-structured interviews focusing on their experience in interprofessional learning and on the possible impact it might have on their professional development.

RESULTS

Women showed better attitudes in the G-IPAS across all years (p = 0,007). Pre-clinical students showed more positive attitudes towards IPE [Year 1 to Year 3 (p = 0.011)]. Students correctly defined IPE and its core dimensions. They appealed for more organized IPE interventions throughout the curriculum. Students also acknowledged the relevance of IPE for their future professional performance.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support an early introduction of IPE into the medical curriculum. Although students realise that interprofessional learning is fundamental to high-quality patient care, there are still obstacles and stereotypes to overcome.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN 41715934.

Attitudes towards Interprofessional education in the medical curriculum: a systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND

There is agreement among educators and professional bodies that interprofessional education needs to be implemented at the pre-registration level. We performed a systematic review assessing interprofessional learning interventions, measuring attitudes towards interprofessional education and involving pre-registration medical students across all years of medical education.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was performed using PubMed, PsycINFO, EThOS, EMBASE, PEDro and SCOPUS. Search terms were composed of interprofession*, interprofessional education, inter professional, inter professionally, IPE, and medical student. Inclusion criteria were 1) the use of a validated scale for assessment of attitudes towards IPE, and results for more than 35 medical students; 2) peer-reviewed articles in English and German, including medical students; and 3) results for IPE interventions published after the 2011 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) report. We identified and screened 3995 articles. After elimination of duplicates or non-relevant topics, 278 articles remained as potentially relevant for full text assessment. We used a data extraction form including study designs, training methods, participant data, assessment measures, results, and medical year of participants for each study. A planned comprehensive meta-analysis was not possible.

RESULTS

This systematic review included 23 articles with a pre-test-post-test design. Interventions varied in their type and topic. Duration of interventions varied from 25 min to 6 months, and interprofessional groups ranged from 2 to 25 students. Nine studies (39%) reported data from first-year medical students, five (22%) from second-year students, six (26%) from third-year students, two (9%) from fourth-year students and one (4%) from sixth-year students. There were no studies including fifth-year students. The most frequently used assessment method was the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) (n = 6, 26%). About half of study outcomes showed a significant increase in positive attitudes towards interprofessional education after interventions across all medical years.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review showed some evidence of a post-intervention change of attitudes towards IPE across different medical years studied. IPE was successfully introduced both in pre-clinical and clinical years of the medical curriculum. With respect to changes in attitudes to IPE, we could not demonstrate a difference between interventions delivered in early and later years of the curriculum.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number:  CRD42020160964 .

Interprofessional Education and Collaboration: Strategies for Implementation

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an integral educational outlook that is necessary to make sure that the graduates of an allied health care education are able to be valuable members or leaders of collaborative healthcare practices. Literature and resources are available about various models that have been used by different institutions to integrate IPE as part of their curriculum. With the growing need for collaborative practice, the curriculum must be designed to foster competencies required for IPE. There are challenges present, but with the concerted effort of the administration, faculty, and students, the benefits of IPE can be enjoyed by the institution and eventually by patients.

Effect of a Longitudinal Interprofessional Education Passport Program on Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Practice

ABSTRACT

To meet the demands of complex health care systems with multiple professions, it is recommended that nursing students have interprofessional educational experiences throughout the curriculum. We assessed longitudinal changes in nursing students' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration in the context of an Interprofessional Education Passport Program. Students were surveyed using the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale at the beginning and end of the two-year curriculum. Students showed significant improvement from baseline to posttest in three of five subscales: Teamwork, Roles, and Responsibilities; Interprofessional Biases; and Community-Centeredness. A longitudinal interprofessional education curriculum may influence students' attitudes regarding teamwork, roles, responsibilities, and biases.

Interprofessional pharmacotherapy workshop: intervention to improve health professionals' and students' attitudes towards collaboration between physicians and pharmacists

Collaboration between physicians and pharmacists is recognized as an important factor for reducing medication errors and improving patient outcomes. Therefore, two pharmacotherapy workshops were delivered in Croatia - one for pre-registration medical (n=42, 4th-6th year) and pharmacy (n=38, 4th-5th year) students, and the other one for physicians (n=18) and pharmacists (n=23). The purpose of this study was to determine whether participation in common pharmacotherapy workshop could improve attitudes among participants towards interprofessional collaboration between pharmacists and physicians. Attitudes were measured by validated questionnaire "Scale of Attitudes Towards Collaboration Between Pharmacists and Physicians" at the beginning and at the end of the workshops. Three complex clinical scenarios were presented during the workshops. Participants were given general information about cases (all participants) and 2 groups of specific information (only for medical students/physicians and only for pharmacy students/pharmacists). For the first scenario, medical and pharmacy students/professionals were not allowed to exchange their specific information. However, participants collaborated for the 2nd and 3rd scenarios in order to achieve the hypothesized therapeutic goals. Before the workshops, pharmacists and pharmacy students showed more positive attitudes than physicians and medical students. However, the workshop contributed in closing the gap by equating health care professionals' attitudes. Additionally, students' attitudes were more positive after the workshop with an increase of 10% for medical and 2.2% for pharmacy students. This study indicates that interprofessional pharmacotherapy workshops could significantly improve attitudes toward collaboration between physicians and pharmacists for both students and practicing professionals.

Compounding medications in a rural setting: an interprofessional perspective

Background

Interprofessional learning (IPL) which focuses on the pharmacist's role in specialty practices as part of a multidisciplinary health care team has not been explored. This study aimed to determine health care students' understanding of the role of the pharmacist in compounding medications to optimize health outcomes for patients in rural and remote health care services.

Methods

Four workshops followed by focus group interviews were conducted with undergraduate pharmacy, medical, nursing, physiotherapy, dentistry, Aboriginal public health, and speech pathology students (n=15). After an introductory lecture, students working in multidisciplinary teams undertook to compound three products. Focus groups were held at the end of the compounding workshops to explore students' understanding and perceptions of these compounding activities. Thematic analysis was undertaken on the qualitative data obtained from the focus groups.

Results

Student participants responded positively both to the opportunity to undertake a compounding exercise and being part of an interprofessional team, perceiving benefit for their future rural and remote health practice. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: improved knowledge and understanding; application to practice; interprofessional collaboration; and rural, remote, and Indigenous context. Students acknowledged that the workshops improved their understanding of the role of the pharmacist in compounding and how they, as part of a multidisciplinary team, could deliver better health outcomes for patients with special needs, especially in a rural and remote context.

Conclusion

This study highlights that workshops of this nature have a role to play in developing collaborative interprofessional practice and increasing awareness of pharmaceutical services among undergraduate health students. However, further evidence is needed to assess whether positive perceptions of specialty practice IPL workshops will translate into improved patient outcomes in practice.

Stereotypes in health professional students – perspectives for research about interprofessional learning, teaching and working / Stereotype von Lernenden in den Gesundheitsprofessionen – Perspektiven für die Forschung zum interprofessionellen Lernen, Lehren und Arbeiten

Background

As the scientific discourse about interprofessional learning, teaching, and practice has been gaining momentum in recent years, German-speaking countries still have a considerable amount of catching up to do compared with other countries. The discourse about stereotypes and their effects may serve as an example in this respect.

Objective

We set out to establish which theoretical and methodological approaches have been used in research on stereotypes endorsed by health professions students and which empirical findings are currently available on the effects of such stereotypes on interprofessional learning, teaching and practice. The main goal was to summarize the current research, to point out research desiderata and identify starting points for further research about this topic.

Methods

A broad narrative review of English and German literature was performed. Results were prepared, reflected and descriptive and analytical summarized.

Results

International research on stereotypes of health professions students in the interprofessional discourse is characterized by social-psychological theoretical and quantitative-empirical methodological approaches. Heterogeneous study designs limit the comparability and generalizability of current study findings. Answers to questions of whether and how stereotypes can be influenced through interprofessional learning, teaching, and practice were inconsistent in the literature.

Conclusion

Research findings on stereotypes endorsed by health professions students provided interesting theoretical and empirical perspectives for the debate surrounding interprofessional learning, teaching, and practice. These perspectives should be used to guide and stimulate further research on this topic in German-speaking countries.

Development and delivery of an interdisciplinary course in mobile health (mHealth)

BACKGROUND

Interdisciplinary practice is a primary focus within the United States health care system. Despite the existence of interdisciplinary educational efforts in pharmacy for many years, the practice only recently entered mainstream health care education. Informatics offers interdisciplinary educational opportunities. Mobile health (mHealth), an informatics sub-discipline, is the use of mobile devices for health and wellness activities. We used the mHealth domain as the context for an interdisciplinary learning experience for pharmacy and computer science and software engineering (CSSE) students.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

Educational activities focused on creating an mHealth course sequence and an mHealth application (app). Students worked in teams to complete various assignments, including developing and presenting a course proposal, building a purchase plan for mHealth equipment, developing an mHealth app prototype, delivering a disease state presentation (pharmacy students only), developing use case scenarios (CSSE students only), and completing peer evaluations.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

Course evaluations were only available from pharmacy students. They indicated an overall favorable rating (mean 3.27-3.55; 4=strongly agree). Survey data collected after students entered the workforce indicated that students felt better prepared than their colleagues to work with individuals from other disciplines (mean 4.82; 5=strongly agree). Students also indicated using the knowledge from course proposal development in their careers (mean 4.27; 5=strongly agree). Through team interactions, students learned from each other while overcoming challenges related to terminology and content areas. Skills learned through team interactions reflect real-world processes and are expected to support students' future professional responsibilities.

Effect of interprofessional clinical education programme length on students' attitudes towards teamwork

This article reports on a study involving a range of health professions students who participated in similar one-semester (short) or two-semester (long) interprofessional clinical education programmes that focused on clinical assessment of senior citizens living independently in the community. Students' attitudes towards teamwork skills and perceptions of their own teamwork skills both before and after the programmes were assessed using two validated scales. Osteopathic medical student participants reported no significant changes in attitudes towards interprofessional healthcare teamwork skills or their perceptions of their own interprofessional teamwork skills after either the one- or two-semester programmes. For athletic training, speech-language pathology, exercise sciences, public health, and nursing students, though, attitudes towards teamwork skills significantly improved (p < .05) after the one-semester programme; and perceptions of their own team skills significantly improved (p < .05) after both the one- and two-semester programmes. Overall, this study provides some support for interprofessional teamwork attitude change, but with a significant difference between medical as compared to nursing, allied health, and public health students.

Professional Stereotypes of Interprofessional Education Naive Pharmacy and Nursing Students

Objective. To assess and compare interprofessional education (IPE) naive pharmacy and nursing student stereotypes prior to completion of an IPE activity. Methods. Three hundred and twenty-three pharmacy students and 275 nursing students at Mercer University completed the Student Stereotypes Rating Questionnaire. Responses from pharmacy and nursing students were compared, and responses from different level learners within the same profession also were compared. Results. Three hundred and fifty-six (59.5%) students completed the survey. Pharmacy students viewed pharmacists more favorably than nursing students viewed pharmacists for all attributes except the ability to work independently. Additionally, nursing students viewed nurses less favorably than pharmacy students viewed nurses for academic ability and practical skills. There was some variability in stereotypes between professional years. Conclusion. This study confirms the existence of professional stereotypes, although overall student perceptions of their own profession and the other were generally positive.

Interprofessional communication between community pharmacists and general practitioners: a qualitative study

Background While collaboration between community pharmacists (CPs) and general practitioners (GPs) is essential to provide comprehensive patient care, their communication often is scarce and hampered by multiple barriers. Objective We aimed to assess both professions' perceptions of interprofessional communication with regard to content and methods of communication as a basis to subsequently develop best-practice recommendations for information exchange. Setting Ambulatory care setting in Germany. Method CPs and GPs shared their experience in focus groups and in-depth interviews which were conducted using a semi-structured interview guideline. Transcribed recordings were assessed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Main outcome measure Specification of existing barriers, CPs'/GPs' general perceptions of interprofessional communication and similarities and differences regarding prioritization of specific information items and how to best communicate with each other. Results Four focus groups and fourteen interviews were conducted. Seven internal (e.g. professions were not personally known to one another) and nine external barriers (e.g. mutual accessibility) were identified. Ten organizational, eight medication-related, and four patient-related information items were identified requiring interprofessional communication. Their relevance varied between the professions, e.g. CPs rated organizational issues higher than GPs. Both professions indicated communication via phone to be the most frequently used method of communication. Conclusion CPs and GPs opinions often differ. However, communication between CPs and GPs is perceived as crucial suggesting that a future concept has to offer standardized recommendations, while leaving CPs and GPs room to adjust it to their individual needs.

Student perceptions towards interprofessional education: Findings from a longitudinal study based in a Middle Eastern university

The Lebanese American University Interprofessional Education (LAU IPE) Steps Framework consists of a five-step workshop-based series that is offered throughout the curriculum of health and social care students at an American university in Lebanon. The aim of the present study was to report students' perceptions of their readiness for interprofessional learning before and after completing the IPE steps, their evaluations of interprofessional learning outcomes, as well as their satisfaction with the learning experience as a whole. A longitudinal survey design was used: questionnaires were completed by students before IPE exposure and after each step. The results showed that before IPE exposure, students' perceptions of their readiness for interprofessional learning were generally favourable, with differences across genders (stronger professional identity in females compared to males) and across professions (higher teamwork and collaboration in pharmacy and nutrition students compared to other professions and lower patient centredness in nursing students compared to others). After participation in the IPE steps, students showed enhanced readiness for interprofessional learning and differences between genders and professions decreased. Participants were satisfied with the learning experience and assessment scores showed that all IPE learning outcomes were met. The LAU IPE Steps Framework may be of value to other interprofessional education course developers.

Examining the effects of interprofessional problem-based clinical ethics: Findings from a mixed methods study

Understanding how interprofessional education (IPE) works in learning clinical ethics via problem-based learning (PBL) and how different professions' perspectives influence each other in this setting may inform future IPE. Eighty-nine students participated in a clinical ethics PBL and were assigned into three study groups, i.e., medical, nursing, and interprofessional groups. This study applied an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The quantitative phase involved observation of the learning process in PBL tutorial with checklists to code students' performance of learning behaviour, ethics discussion skills, learning content explored, and analysis through comparison of accumulative percentage of the coded performance between groups. Content analysis of post-PBL homework self-reflections from interprofessional group was conducted as the following explanatory qualitative phase. Quantitative results indicated that nursing students performed favourably on course engagement, caring, and communication while medical students performed positively on issue identification and the life science aspect. Interprofessional group showed the strength of the both professions and performed best through the learning process. Content analysis revealed that students in the interprofessional group achieved interprofessional learning from recognizing the differences between to appreciating learning from each other and to sense the need of future collaboration. With early exposure to IPE, undergraduate students may learn to balance their socialized viewpoints by seeing ethical dilemmas from each other's standpoint.

Interprofessional impressions among nursing and pharmacy students: a qualitative study to inform interprofessional education initiatives

BACKGROUND

Medical care is increasingly complex and must draw upon the distinct, yet complementary skills of various health disciplines. Healthcare student integration through interprofessional education (IPE) activity is considered one way to promote early, and subsequently sustain, the principles of teamwork. However, It has been demonstrated that each profession has distinct profession-based subcultures, or common attitudes, beliefs and values, even among undergraduate students before commencing their training. We sought to evaluate if undergraduate pharmacy and nursing student in the Middle East had similarly formed attitudes and perceptions of each others' roles.

METHODS

Focus group and semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate pharmacy and nursing students enrolled at Qatar University College of Pharmacy and University of Calgary - Qatar Nursing programs. An eight-question topic guide was developed following comprehensive literature review of reports of other interdisciplinary assessments (either quantitative and qualitative). Working theories were drawn by the two primary investigators based on relevant topic characteristics such as expressed roles and purposes for interacting with one other, patients, and physicians, to develop explanatory constructs for the findings and identify patterns in the data. Qualitative analysis of interviews were supported by NVivo10 (©) (QSR International 2013) software.

RESULTS

One shared themes across both health professional groups evolved during data analysis: perceptions of collaborative roles. Discipline specific themes included pharmacist knowledge and visibility (nursing students) and nurses as informants and roles in total patient care (pharmacy students). As expected, students with little or no curricular-based structured experiential training yet largely drew upon personal experiences, whereas senior students, who did have some amount of professional context, often mirrored those that have been found in other studies investigating this interdisciplinary partnership in the clinical setting. Basic understanding of one another's roles were exhibited, but tended to closely follow traditional scripts that are particularly pervasive in the Middle East.

CONCLUSION

Concepts arising from our work reinforces the importance of reaching interdisciplinary understanding through assorted formal and informal exposures and can inform ways in which future IPE initiatives can be developed among the various health professional training programs.

A longitudınal study on the effect of tailored training and counseling on the professional attitude of nursing students

The development of professional attitudes in nursing students is influenced by their learning experiences (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) and instructors' professional behaviors. Instructors can enhance students' professional attitude by organizing the training environment, being a role model, and providing counseling. This study was conducted as a tailoring intervention study over 4 years (2010-2013) examining 73 nursing students (34 intervention, 39 control) to determine the effect of training and counseling on nursing students' professional attitudes. Data were collected utilizing the Introductory Characteristics Form and the Instrument of Professional Attitude for Student Nurses. Intervention group students were provided training and counseling complementing their current education to develop their professional attitudes. Controls proceeded with their current education. Instrument for Professional Attitude for Student Nurses posttest scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than those of control group students. Furthermore, intervention group scores on all subscales other than "competence and continuous education" significantly increased after training. Controls showed no growth in professional attitudes, other than in "contribution to scientific knowledge." The training and counseling program had a positive influence on the professional attitudes of nursing students. Thus, providing tailored training and counseling associated to professionalism throughout the educational process at schools providing nursing training is recommended.

Moderating the stereotypical views of health and social care students: the role of interprofessional education

The potential of interprofessional education (IPE) to influence the perceptions and attitudes of health and social care professionals towards their colleagues in other disciplines is well recognized. However, empirical evidence for the positive impact of IPE on stereotypical beliefs has been limited. We report the findings of a pioneering, large scale study designed to assess the influence of IPE on these beliefs. A pre-test, post-test, quasi experimental design compared students' stereotypical views at the beginning and end of undergraduate studies. 580 students from 10 health and social care professional groups undertook assessed IPE modules over 3 years (the intervention group). Baseline and post-course stereotype ratings were compared with those of 672 students in a comparison group, not exposed to IPE modules. Baseline stereotype profiles showed clear variations in the way different professions were perceived, indicating stereotypical beliefs about the characteristics of each profession. Rating patterns were similar for intervention and comparison groups. At graduation, only minor changes were observed in the overall rating patterns for both groups. However, more ratings had decreased in the intervention group than the comparison group, suggesting that IPE may play a role in moderating more extreme stereotyping of colleagues in other professions.