“Just working in a team was a great experience…” – Student perspectives on the learning experiences of an interprofessional education program

"It Is Not About Us and Them": Nursing Students' Perception of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Mental Health Clinical Studies

Through interdisciplinary collaboration, a synthesis can be made together across subject boundaries that basically separate the subjects. This means that in addition to their own expertise, the professions can create a new understanding, new attitudes and new knowledge. In other words, a shared additional knowledge. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe nursing students' experiences of interdisciplinary collaboration in clinical studies in mental health services. A qualitative, explorative study was performed based on three focus group interviews. A qualitative content analysis was conducted. The analysis resulted in the categories: 'Community'-The students experienced the interaction and the communication in different ways. 'Learning'-The students could gain both knowledge and understanding. In conclusion when the interdisciplinary collaboration was optimal, the students experienced it as enriching both in terms of interaction, communication, learning and understanding. Interdisciplinary collaboration can give students knowledge of cultural forms of expression so that they can better meet patients' needs. The students also gain an increased understanding related to care. Students can get good learning opportunities when different professions are taught together.

Using an interprofessional competency framework to enhance collaborative pediatric nursing education and practice

Background

Interprofessional education (IPE) provides healthcare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe and effective collaborative care in a variety of clinical settings. Inclusion of IPE in nursing curricula is required for program accreditation in Canada; a variety of learning strategies at varied levels are used to meet this requirement. As this formal requirement only occurred over the last decade, development, facilitation, and evaluation of IPE interventions are ongoing.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine if exposure to an introductory IPE activity influenced third-year undergraduate nursing students’ perceived ability to practice competent interprofessional collaboration (IPC).

Methods

The introductory IPE activity included ten-hours of interactive lectures and related case studies, grounded in the National Interprofessional Competency Framework, delivered by various healthcare professionals in a third-year nursing theory and clinical course. Following completion of the courses, quantitative data were collected via the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) which was used to evaluate nursing students’ change in competencies for IPC. Frequencies, percentages, and means were used to analyze the demographic data, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to evaluate the internal reliability of the ICCAS, and paired t-tests were conducted to measure the difference from pre- to post-participation for all 20 items and 6 subscales of the ICCAS.

Results

Study participants (n = 111) completed the ICCAS at the end of the courses to measure change in six competencies. The survey results indicated improvements in all competencies following the IPE activity.

Conclusions

The significant findings demonstrate that exposure to introductory IPE activities, involving nursing students and other healthcare professionals, hold promise for enhancing IPC in pediatric clinical settings. These findings can be used to inform the development of formal IPE interventions.

Is interprofessional education a valued contributor to interprofessional practice and collaboration within allied health in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review

Research on the value of interprofessional education (IPE), collaboration and practice in the health sector at both a pre- and post-registration level has increased in recent years. A scoping review of Australian and New Zealand studies was conducted on the value of IPE to interprofessional practice in allied health professionals from 2013 to 2019. A scoping review framework was used to identify 109 studies. Twenty-one articles met the eligibility criteria. The studies were grouped into undergraduate students in academic and WIL settings, allied health professionals and clinical educators. Results suggest that IPE is necessary for the maintenance of interprofessional practice and that it is strongly connected to the development of successful communication within the interprofessional environment. Authentic IPE experience and socialization opportunities appear to be major facilitators of interprofessional practice but no consensus regarding the ideal length of time or timing of IPE was found. The studies also provided an insight into facilitators and barriers to successful implementation of IPE and interprofessional practice in rural environments. As IPE has been shown to contribute to improved interprofessional practice and patient outcomes, future research should explore how to create IPE opportunities for implementation within rural communities where adequate resourcing is most challenged.

Overcoming language barriers, enhancing collaboration with interpreters - an interprofessional learning intervention (Interpret2Improve)

BACKGROUND

Language barriers (LB) are common in patient care. They can negatively impact the quality of care, and increase costs. LB can be overcome by using interpreters. However, collaboration with interpreters is a professional activity which can and needs to be learnt. Interpret2Improve is an innovative educational intervention where medical and nursing students learn together how to address LB and effectively collaborate with interpreters.

METHODS

The three-hour course has two parts: After a short introduction on the relevance of LB and resulting issues of patient safety etc., students in interprofessional teams of two practice conversations with non-German-speaking simulated patients and professional interpreters. The course is evaluated in a pre-post format with the Freiburg Questionnaire for Interprofessional Learning Evaluation which has been validated in prior studies.

RESULTS

Fifty-one students (thirty of the participants were medical students, 21 participants were students in nursing care) participated from 11/2016-07/2018. Overall, the course was very well received (mean 1.73 (SD 0.85) on a five point scale: 1 = very good, 5 = insufficient). The evaluation by medical and nursing students differed significantly. Fourteen out of twenty-one items show a self-assessed increase in interprofessional knowledge or skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Students felt that their skills in addressing LB by effectively collaborating with interpreters increased during this interprofessional format. Further studies are needed to obtain further evidence beyond self-assessment and regarding the long-term outcomes.

Longitudinal training models for entrusting students with independent patient care?: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

The participation of students from both undergraduate medical education (UGME) and postgraduate medical education (PGME) in independent patient care contributes to the development of knowledge, skills and the professional identity of students. A continuing collaboration between students and their preceptor might contribute to opportunities for students to independently provide patient care. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate whether longitudinal training models facilitate the independent practice of students and what characteristics of longitudinal training models contribute to this process.

METHOD

This systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. In May 2020, we performed a search in three databases. Articles evaluating the impact of longitudinal training models on the independent practice of students from both UGME and PGME programmes were eligible for the study. A total of 68 articles were included in the study. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs (QATSDD).

RESULTS

Both UGME and PGME students in longitudinal training models are more frequently allowed to provide patient care independently when compared with their block model peers, and they also feel better prepared for independent practice at the end of their training programme. Several factors related to longitudinal training models stimulate opportunities for students to work independently. The most important factors in this process are the longitudinal relationships with preceptors and with the health care team.

CONCLUSION

Due to the ongoing collaboration between students and their preceptor, they develop an intensive and supportive mutual relationship, allowing for the development of a safe learning environment. As a result, the professional development of students is fostered, and students gradually become part of the health care team, allowing them the opportunity to engage in independent patient care.

Interprofessional Team-Based Learning: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Nursing and Physiotherapy Students

Traditional discipline-specific training has limitations in facilitating inter-professional communication and collaboration. To address this issue, two local universities in Hong Kong launched an interprofessional team-based learning program to allow the undergraduate healthcare students to form teams and experience collaborative problem-solving. This study aimed to evaluate the experiences of nursing and physiotherapy undergraduates following interprofessional learning activities. Twenty-seven 3rd-year nursing and physiotherapy undergraduates were recruited through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and written feedback was solicited until data saturation was achieved. An inductive thematic analysis was used for the data, and each theme was mutually exclusive. The findings revealed the positive experiences of the students with this interprofessional learning activity. Three main themes emerged: (1) the process of interprofessional learning; (2) profession-related outcomes of interprofessional learning; and (3) patient-related outcomes of interprofessional learning. The study indicated that interprofessional team-based learning activities enhanced learning experiences of the students through interactive learning with other healthcare students. Experiences of relationships that are trustful and complementary allow students to develop confidence in knowledge transfer and in interprofessional collaboration, as well as in providing a holistic patient-centered care. These findings substantiate the importance and value of interprofessional learning in healthcare education.

Evaluation of team communication in an interprofessional inpatient transition of care simulation

Background

Interprofessional education (IPE) provides unique opportunities for students to better understand their roles, roles of other healthcare professionals, and prepare for teamwork for patient benefit. Interprofessional team education is recognized as a key element in the 2016 ACPE standards.

Objective

Assess student self-perceived competence in four IPEC domains after an inpatient simulation activity.

Methods

Pre/post-test design used the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Survey. The activity included medical, nursing, social work, and pharmacy students working in healthcare teams to develop collaborative treatment plans for simulated patients with altered mental status.

Results

Ninety-seven health profession students completed the activity, while 49 second-year (P2) student pharmacists participated in the study. All completed a pre-test and 47/49 (96%) completed a post-test. At pre-test, students ranked themselves highest in abilities to respect patient privacy (100% strongly agree) and acting with honesty and integrity in relationships (100% strongly agree). They reported lower ability in describing team development process. At post-test, significant increases were seen in managing ethical dilemmas (p < .002) and respect (p = .49), though decreases were seen in using appropriate or respectful language (p < .02).

Conclusion

Significant differences in student perceptions of ethics and communication were observed after participation in a transition of care inpatient IPE simulation.

Clinical inter-professional education activities: Students' perceptions of their experiences

Background and purpose

Students from different health disciplines should learn together during certain periods of their education to acquire skills necessary for solving the health problems. The Faculty of Health Sciences of University of the Witwatersrand created inter-professional education (IPE) activities for students to assess clinical IPE groups' perceptions of IPE experiences and to identify lessons learnt during IPE sessions.

Methods

This was a qualitative study with review of the students' post IPE feedback forms. The students were granted 'protected time' of three full days over a period of two months to participate in IPE activities.

Results

Students felt that knowledge about health team members was gained and that IPE groups should have more than one person from each field with the same level of clinical exposure. The students indicated the need to have regular IPE activities and if possible to incorporate this into clinical practice for them to experience it in daily clinical practice.

Conclusion

Participating in the IPE activity made students gain appreciation and respect for other health professionals' roles and scope. When student groups are big, patient observations can be done as this does not compromise IPE learning outcomes. Group composition should be kept in mind to cater for the learning needs of all students. If it is not possible to meet the needs of all professions, smaller groups with professions applicable to case can be created.

Use of problem based learning activity to improve attitudes regarding inter-professional collaborative teamwork in mental health nursing students: An evaluation study

Inter-professional collaboration results in improved processes, quality, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes in health care. Despite benefits of collaboration, little is known about effective nursing education approaches in collaboration. A pre-test, post-test brief longitudinal educational evaluation design was implemented utilizing a teamwork attitudes questionnaire to explore thirty-six Midwestern United States undergraduate nursing students' attitudes about collaborative care. An electronic educational module about collaborative nursing practice was used. Also, participants developed visual representations (maps) of collaborative care teams utilizing reverse case-study approach. The TAQ tool demonstrated significantly improved students' valuation of teamwork after the electronic module activity (t = 5.976, p = 0.000) and increased the identification of need for administrative support for effective teamwork (t = 33.53, 0.000). Collaborative team map drawings demonstrated that patient's frequently fail to identify themselves (75%) and social workers (70%) as part of their care team. Patients (58.3%) and students (77.8%) however, frequently identified family members as important to care. Further study should identify how nurses can fully engage and sustain involvement of family members and social workers in collaborative mental health care. Benefit in student nurses' attitudes about teamwork was found after a brief educational learning module about collaboration.

An Interprofessional Branching Simulation to Introduce RN First Assistant Students to Their Role in the Perioperative Setting

Simulation can be an effective tool for educating health profession students and can enhance interprofessional education by involving roles across multiple disciplines. Perioperative nurse educators at one institution used a five-part branching simulation of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative events for a single patient undergoing a procedure to introduce RN first assistant (RNFA) students to their role in the perioperative environment. The simulation participants included student RN anesthetists, a surgeon, an RN circulator (played by an actor), and a standardized patient. The objectives for this simulation were to assess the implementation of the didactic RNFA curriculum and to enhance the RNFA students' transition into their role in the perioperative setting. The simulation and multiple debriefings reinforced the concepts of role acquisition, surgical conscience, closed-loop communication, and interprofessional collaboration. Perioperative nurse educators can use this type of educational activity to teach these concepts to their students.

Governance options for effective interprofessional education: Exposing the gap between education and healthcare services

CONTEXT

The increase in interprofessional models of collaborative practice and identification of health services as interprofessional organisations, sits somewhat awkwardly with traditional governance systems for both health services and educational institutions. Whereas health services have a primary focus on assuring competence and safety for health care practice, educational institutions have a primary focus on assuring academic standards within specific qualifications. Bridging the gap between these two systems with a workable option has proven challenging, especially in relation to interprofessional education (IPE).

OBJECTIVES

Given the need to ensure 'work ready' graduates within a more interprofessional and collaborative workforce, it is important to review the quality assurance governance models that are in place and to consider which of these existing governance systems, if either, is the more appropriate model for enabling and supporting IPE.

METHODS

This paper describes current issues in relation to governance for quality assurance, summarises the current state of research in the field and discusses potential governance options moving forward.

CONCLUSION

Given that existing governance models are not meeting the challenges of IPE, there is a need to achieve greater alignment between the academic and health service governing systems.

Occupational therapy and physiotherapy students' communicative and collaborative learning in an interprofessional virtual setting

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional learning activities can contribute to preparing students to function in health care teams. Although the importance of communication is acknowledged, there is still a lack of understanding about how students learn to communicate interprofessionally.

AIM

To explore occupational therapist and physiotherapist students learning of skills in interprofessional communication by studying the students' communication while working together with a virtual patient.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The students carried out a virtual patient encounter in pairs of two, using one computer per student, sitting side by side. The students' actions and conversations were recorded as video films, the oral communication was transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The students created a social learning environment by posing questions, acknowledging each other and clarifying their professional perspective using familiar professional concepts. Comparing their professional views, students related their peers' statements to their own. Departing from their own profession and using the created open environment, the students' communication led to an interprofessional meaning-making process, with students aiming to understand each other.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

A reciprocal learning situation was created when students worked together in a virtual setting. Communicating and making shared decisions about a patient can facilitate learning how to communicate interprofessionally and improve students' understanding of their own profession.

Protecting children across borders - child protection in an international context (Germany/Switzerland) as an interprofessional teaching unit

Introduction: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in everyday clinical practice is a prerequisite for good patient care but currently this is not sufficiently anchored in the education of health care professionals. Project description: A course on child protection in the interprofessional and international domain was established at the Medical School, University of Freiburg. In this course, students of medicine, nursing science and social work acquire skills for successful interprofessional cooperation. Its participants learn across professional and national borders, not only with but also from and about each other. In this way, they deepen their insights into international IPC through a key topic that is relevant to many disciplines. The course is run as a one-day campus day. This paper presents the course setup and evaluation results. Methods: The evaluation was carried out online and in writing in a before and after format using the Freiburg Questionnaire for Interprofessional Learning Evaluation (FILE) in addition to oral feedback. Learning objectives for IPC and child protection were formulated and the participants were asked about their subjective achievements. Results: From summer semester (SuSe) 2017 to SuSe 2018, 39 participants took part in the course. It was rated as m=1.5 (using German school grades where 1=very good, 6=unsatisfactory). In 18 of the 26 FILE items, participants report a self-assessed increase in knowledge or skills/abilities. This growth in learning coincides with the learning objectives set. Discussion & conclusion: From the perspective of the participants, the course teaches interprofessional competencies in an international setting and is seen as an informative course offer. The continuation or expansion of such courses as a supplement to purely single-country interprofessional courses is desirable.

Interprofessional education for complex neurological cases

There is a growing necessity for healthcare professionals to collaborate across disciplines in order to adequately treat patients. Interprofessional education (IPE) is one strategy that can be used to strengthen student attitudes, skill mastery, and preparedness toward working in interprofessional teams prior to joining the healthcare workforce. The current study evaluated the effects of a four-session IPE training program for students from four New England universities across nine different health professions. Participants (N = 46) were placed into teams to create an assessment plan, evaluated their patient volunteer, developed a treatment plan, and presented treatment plan decisions to the group. Students reported attitudes, skills and readiness to work on interprofessional teams before and after the training; additionally, students completed a free-response posttest questionnaire. Paired samples t-tests, repeated measures ANCOVA, and thematic analysis were conducted to analyze the data. Results showed that following program completion, participants expressed more positive attitudes toward team collaboration and demonstrated higher skill mastery to function within healthcare teams. The presence of prior IPE experience did not positively or negatively influence changes in attitudes, skills, or readiness from pretest to posttest. Results suggest that this IPE program demonstrated preliminary feasibility and effectiveness by actively improving the attitudes and skills of healthcare students to engage in interprofessional teamwork.

Physical therapy and pharmacy interprofessional education in the context of a university pro bono physical therapy setting

Interprofessional care is the standard for quality in healthcare. Interprofessional education (IPE) is an accreditation requirement in many health-care fields. This qualitative study evaluated the benefits of an interprofessional education program for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in the context of a pro bono physical therapy setting focused on reducing fall risk among older adults. For each pro bono participant, PharmD and DPT students worked together to analyze fall risk of the participating older adults. PharmD students completed a medication review while the DPT students completed balance assessments. Each profession recommended adjustments to care and presented their findings to peers, faculty, and participants. Following completion of the IPE program, students completed a voluntary evaluation with seven questions requiring semi-structured written reflection regarding their IPE experience. Student reflective responses from 2014-2016 were coded by IPE faculty using a coding guide collaboratively developed by the study team. Descriptive analysis included a summary of code frequency by year, discipline and Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competency: Values and Ethics, Communication, Teams and Teamwork, and Roles and Responsibilities. Values and Ethics were the most frequently coded core competency. Students consistently noted the importance of valuing the other profession, understanding each other's roles, having good interprofessional communication, and working within a health-care team. Additional codes emerged during the analysis process. Written reflective findings suggest that hands-on collaboration, focused on a real-world problem (fall risk) relevant to both PharmD and DPT students, enabled interprofessional care that benefited students through real-world practice of skills learned during coursework, and benefited clinical participants through increased awareness of physical function and medication factors that could affect fall risk. Findings indicate that a pro bono physical therapy setting can provide hands-on learning that meets IPE accreditation requirements and student learning needs while addressing a public health concern.

Aspectos institucionais para a adoção da Educação Interprofissional na formação em enfermagem e medicina

RESUMO Os marcos teórico-conceituais e metodológicos da Educação Interprofissional (EIP) em saúde vêm sendo amplamente reconhecidos em todo o mundo como úteis para o desenvolvimento de competências colaborativas para o efetivo trabalho em equipe. O artigo teve como objetivo explorar as percepções de estudantes de enfermagem e medicina sobre os fatores institucionais que interferem na adoção de iniciativas de EIP em seus contextos de formação. Trata-se de um estudo de caso, que adotou a abordagem qualitativa e a perspectiva exploratória. Os participantes da pesquisa foram estudantes de enfermagem e medicina de duas universidades públicas de um estado do Nordeste - uma estadual e outra federal. O grupo focal foi escolhido para coleta de dados, e foi utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo categorial, observando as fases de pré-análise, exploração do material e tratamento dos resultados. Três categorias temáticas foram construídas a posteriori: a importância do trabalho em equipe, contextos institucionais para adoção da EIP e desafios para a adoção da EIP. Embora as realidades pesquisadas apresentem avanços nas mudanças curriculares, como a aproximação do ensino com a realidade dos serviços, a adoção de métodos mais ativos para a formação de sujeitos críticos e reflexivos, ainda são notórias as lacunas no desenvolvimento de competências colaborativas.

Dissecting through Barriers: A Follow-up Study on the Long-Term Effects of Interprofessional Education in a Dissection Course with Healthcare Professional Students

Several studies have shown significant improvements in the attitudes and perceptions of healthcare professional students toward interprofessional education (IPE) immediately following intervention with IPE courses. However, there remains little evidence on the lasting effects of IPE courses and the long-term influences of these IPE experiences are poorly documented. The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term effects of an intensive, ten-week interprofessional gross anatomy dissection course at McMaster University. Attitudes and perceptions of past participants towards interprofessional learning were evaluated, now that they have started working with other healthcare professionals outside of the IPE course setting. Thirty-four past participants who have clinical experience working in interprofessional settings or are currently working in the healthcare field completed a follow-up questionnaire consisting of a modified Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant decrease in their attitude towards teamwork and collaboration and respect for other health professions, but a significant improvement in their understanding of roles and responsibilities compared to their results immediately after the IPE intervention. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions revealed several themes such as developing interprofessional competencies, developing relationships, and remembering the strengths of the IPE dissection course. The results of this study indicate that the IPE experience in anatomy was highly valued by the students and that past participants maintain a clear understanding of their scope of practice, but the reality of clinical practice may have eroded gains made in the program. Anat Sci Educ. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.

Pride and Competency in Accelerated Nursing Programs

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine student-level and school-level variation in pride and competency in accelerated nursing programs and the relationship between student satisfaction with instructional methods and perceptions of pride and competency.

BACKGROUND

Nursing students in accelerated, second-degree programs have a greater need to feel competent when compared to traditionally educated nurses; however, evidence to illuminate a relationship between faculty instructional methods and student pride and competency is lacking.

METHOD

The method was a secondary analysis of data collected from 3,506 students in 130 programs over seven years.

RESULTS

Higher levels of satisfaction with instructional methods were associated with higher levels of pride and competency in nursing skills. There was no significant variation in pride and competency in nursing skills across institutions.

CONCLUSION

Student satisfaction with instructional methods in accelerated nursing education has an impact on student pride and competency.

Successes, challenges, and impact of a large-cohort preclinical interprofessional curriculum: A four-year reflection

BACKGROUND

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016 established a new standard on interprofessional education (IPE) to place specific emphasis on developing interprofessional competence among pharmacy graduates.

INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITY

Interprofessional Collaboration And Team Skills (iCATS) serves as the core interprofessional curriculum for nearly 700 first-year students in seven participating health professional programs. The curriculum was developed around the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competencies to develop foundational interprofessional knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Pharmacy students build preliminary competence in interprofessional roles and responsibilities, team dynamics, values and ethics, communication, and conflict resolution (ACPE Standard 11.1) and have an opportunity to learn about, from, and with other interprofessional students (ACPE Standard 11.2).

DISCUSSION

Refinement of the iCATS curriculum has been an iterative process over the past four years. For iCATS 2016-2017, all Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS) evaluation items indicated significant changes in pre- and posttest indicating targeted IPEC Competencies were addressed through the iCATS curriculum.

IMPLICATIONS

The 2016-2017 revision of iCATS resulted in the most effective iteration of this core interprofessional curriculum to date. Clearer course objectives, a compressed schedule, employment of a variety of teaching/learning methods, and greater schedule cooperation among the colleges have contributed to the success and delivery of an IPE curriculum. Additionally, iCATS provides a unique opportunity for pharmacy students to interact with health professions students from six other programs while making significant progress toward competence in ACPE Standards 11.1 and 11.2 on interprofessional education (IPE).

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.

Navigating Interprofessional Spaces: Experiences of Clients Living with Parkinson's Disease, Students and Clinical Educators

When students in interprofessional education and practice programmes partner with clients living with a long-term condition, the potential for a better client and educational experience is enhanced when the focus is on client self-management and empowerment. This paper reports the findings from a phenomenological study into the experiences of five clients, six speech language therapy students, eight physiotherapy students, and two clinical educators participating in a university clinic-based interprofessional programme for clients living in the community with Parkinson's Disease. Collaborative hermeneutic analysis was conducted to interpret the texts from client interviews and student and clinical educator focus groups held immediately after the programme. The overarching narratives emerging from the texts were: "client-centredness"; "who am I/why am I here?"; "understanding interprofessional collaboration and development"; "personal and professional development, awareness of self and others"; "the environment - safety and support". These narratives and the meanings within them were drawn together to develop a tentative metaphor-based framework of "navigating interprofessional spaces" showing how the narratives and meanings are connected. The framework identifies a temporal journey toward interprofessional collaboration impacted by diverse identities and understandings of self and others, varying expectations and interpretations of the programme, intra- and interpersonal, cultural and contextual spaces, and uncertainty. Shifts in being and doing and uncertainty appear to characterise client-driven, self-management focused interprofessional teamwork for all participants. These findings indicate that students need ongoing opportunities to share explicit understandings of interprofessional teamwork and dispel assumptions, since isolated interprofessional experiences may only begin to address these temporal processes.

Enhancing Interprofessional Education With Team-Based Learning

Interprofessional education (IPE) has gained momentum across health profession schools in simulation and clinical settings. Exploring interprofessional experiences in the classroom setting may further enhance collaborative skills while advancing clinical knowledge. The authors describe an innovative approach to IPE to teach chronic care concepts to graduate nursing, physician assistant, and public health students. Enhancing IPE with a team-based learning approach resulted in improved knowledge of chronic care management, student perceptions of mutual respect, and perceived development of communication and teamwork skills.

The experiences of students in interprofessional learning

This article explores the experiences of undergraduate healthcare students within interprofessional education (IPE) using a qualitative research study. The motive to undertake this study was as a result of mixed evaluations of IPE sessions. The study aimed to analyse student experiences of IPE, and as a result provide greater insight into how this type of education could be enhanced. Participants were selected through voluntary recruitment and data were collected using a focus group involving 12 participants who responded. Data analysis identified two key themes highlighting the barriers to engagement in IPE and factors that enable participants to engage. The study provides guidance for further developments and improvements when designing and delivering IPE.

Student learning outcomes from a pilot medical innovations course with nursing, engineering, and biology undergraduate students

BACKGROUND

Preparing today's undergraduate students from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and related health professions to solve wide-sweeping healthcare challenges is critical. Moreover, it is imperative that educators help students develop the capabilities needed to meet those challenges, including problem solving, collaboration, and an ability to work with rapidly evolving technologies. We piloted a multidisciplinary education (ME) course aimed at filling this gap, and subsequently assessed whether or not students identified achieving the course objectives. In the course, undergraduate students from engineering, pre-nursing (students not yet admitted to the nursing program), and pre-professional health (e.g., pre-med and pre-physician's assistant) were grouped based on their diversity of background, major, and StrengthsFinder® proficiencies in a MakerSpace to create tangible solutions to health-related problems facing the community. We then used qualitative content analysis to assess the research question: what is the impact of undergraduate multidisciplinary education offered in a MakerSpace on student attitudes towards and perceptions of skills required in their own as well as others occupations?

RESULTS

We discovered these students were able to identify and learn capabilities that will be critical in their future work. For example, students appreciated the challenging problems they encountered and the ability to meet demands using cutting-edge technologies including 3D printers. Moreover, they learned the value of working in a multidisciplinary group. We expected some of these findings, such as an increased ability to work in teams. However, some themes were unexpected, including students explicitly appreciating the method of teaching that focused on experiential student learning through faculty mentoring.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings can be used to guide additional research. Moreover, offering a variety of these courses is a necessary step to prepare students for the current and future workforce. Finally, these classes should include a focus on intentional team creation with the goal of allowing students to solve challenging real-world problems through ethical reasoning and collaboration.

Get it together: Issues that facilitate collaboration in teams of learners in intensive care

INTRODUCTION

The study describes issues that facilitate collaboration in teams of learners in an interprofessional education unit in intensive care.

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative study design was applied using semi-structured interviews based on the critical incident technique and qualitative content analysis. Nineteen participants, eight learners in their specialist training, nine supervisors and two head supervisors in Sweden identified 47 incidents.

RESULT

Teams of learners having control was the core issue. Motivation, time, experiences and reflection were central issues for facilitating collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Efficiently training teams how to collaborate requires learners having control while acting on their common understanding and supervisors taking a facilitating role supporting teams to take control of their critical analysis.

Exploring teams of learners becoming "WE" in the Intensive Care Unit--a focused ethnographic study

BACKGROUND

Research about collaboration within teams of learners in intensive care is sparse, as is research on how the learners in a group develop into a team. The aim of this study was to explore the collaboration in teams of learners during a rotation in an interprofessional education unit in intensive care from a sociocultural learning perspective.

METHODS

Focused Ethnographic methods were used to collect data following eight teams of learners in 2009 and 2010. Each team consisted of one resident, one specialist nurse student and their supervisors (n = 28). The material consisted of 100 hours of observations, interviews, and four hours of sound recordings. A qualitative analysis explored changing patterns of interplay through a constant comparative approach.

RESULTS

The learners' collaboration progressed along a pattern of participation common to all eight groups with a chronological starting point and an end point. The progress consisted of three main steps where the learners' groups developed into teams during a week's training. The supervisors' guided the progress by gradually stepping back to provide latitude for critical reflection and action.

CONCLUSION

Our main conclusion in training teams of learners how to collaborate in the intensive care is the crucial understanding of how to guide them to act like a team, feel like a team and having the authority to act as a team.

Dissecting through barriers: A mixed-methods study on the effect of interprofessional education in a dissection course with healthcare professional students

Healthcare delivery is reliant on a team-based approach, and interprofessional education (IPE) provides a means by which such collaboration skills can be fostered prior to entering the workplace. IPE within healthcare programs has been associated with improved collaborative behavior, patient care and satisfaction, reduced clinical error, and diminished negative professional stereotypes. An intensive interprofessional gross anatomy dissection course was created in 2009 to facilitate IPE at McMaster University. Data were collected from five cohorts over five years to determine the influence of this IPE format on the attitudes and perceptions of students towards other health professions. Each year, 28 students from the medicine, midwifery, nursing, physician's assistant, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy programs were randomly assigned into interprofessional teams for 10 weeks. Sessions involved an anatomy and scope-of-practice presentation, a small-group case-based session, and a dissection. A before/after design measured changes in attitudes and perceptions, while focus group data elaborated on the student experience with the course. Pre- and postmatched data revealed significant improvements in positive professional identity, competency and autonomy, role clarity and attitudes toward other health professions. Qualitative analysis of intraprofessional focus group interviews revealed meaningful improvements in a number of areas including learning anatomy, role clarity, and attitudes towards other health professions.

Interprofessional education in anatomy: Learning together in medical and nursing training

Teamwork and the interprofessional collaboration of all health professions are a guarantee of patient safety and highly qualified treatment in patient care. In the daily clinical routine, physicians and nurses must work together, but the education of the different health professions occurs separately in various places, mostly without interrelated contact. Such training abets mutual misunderstanding and cements professional protectionism, which is why interprofessional education can play an important role in dismantling such barriers to future cooperation. In this article, a pilot project in interprofessional education involving both medical and nursing students is presented, and the concept and the course of training are described in detail. The report illustrates how nursing topics and anatomy lectures can be combined for interprofessional learning in an early phase of training. Evaluation of the course showed that the students were highly satisfied with the collaborative training and believed interprofessional education (IPE) to be an important experience for their future profession and understanding of other health professionals. The results show that the IPE teaching concept, which combines anatomy and nursing topics, provides an optimal setting for learning together and helps nurses and doctors in training to gain knowledge about other health professionals' roles, thus evolving mutual understanding.

An evaluation of an interprofessional master's level programme in children's palliative care: The students' evaluation

In 2010/12 an innovative children's palliative care interprofessional educational project funded by the Irish Hospice Foundation was undertaken in a University faculty (Trinity College Dublin). This initiative responded to international educational recommendations to meet the palliative care needs of children. The project involved the development and delivery of 3 standalone modules at Master's level and a substantive research evaluation of the project to examine stakeholders and students perspectives to provide an insight into their experiences and to gather data for future developments. The research evaluation was conducted in two parts, part one sought students' evaluation and part two sought stakeholders', curriculum developers and lecturers' feedback. This paper reports the students' evaluation. Findings indicate that students perceived undertaking the modules provided them with the opportunity for improved interprofessional learning and they found modular content and assessment challenging. They also found the modules met their educational needs and also promoted an awareness of interprofessional education and the collaborative teamwork involved in children's palliative care. These students already experienced in children's palliative care indicated that those teaching on programmes at this level need expertise and programme time needs to be available for sharing experiences and for consolidation of learning.