Interprofessional education: definitions, student competencies, and guidelines for implementation

Correlation between learning styles and attitudes toward interprofessional education among medical students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional teamwork improves patient care quality, safety, and health outcomes. Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial in today's medical education to prepare students for the workforce as integral members of a collaborative team. The diversity of IPE learners indicates the importance of exploring the relationship between learning styles and attitudes toward IPE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between learning styles and attitudes toward IPE.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2023 and September 2023 in 49 colleges located in the south-eastern region of China. A convenience sampling approach was employed, selecting 500 students majoring in Clinical Medicine and Nursing. The students completed an online questionnaire, which included sociodemographic characteristics, educational characteristics, interprofessional educational characteristics, learning styles, and the readiness for interprofessional learning scale, and Kolb's learning style inventory. Descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The most learners are diverger (93.2%), followed by assimilator (3.4%), accommodator (2.6%), and Converger (0.8%). The total score on the RIPLS was 69.70 (7.42), ranging from 48 to 88. A statistical relationship could be established between learning styles and attitudes toward IPE.

CONCLUSION

Abstract conceptualization and active experimentation learning modes and convergers were closely linked with positive attitudes toward IPE. Gender, age, and study stress can affect attitudes toward IPE. This study highlights the need for medical education curricula to integrate innovative teaching methods such as PBL, role-playing, scenario simulation and clinical early exposure to strengthen professional identity, and improve abilities related to interprofessional learning.

Interprofessional education in cardiothoracic surgery: a narrative review

Interprofessional education, an approach where healthcare professionals from various disciplines learn with, from, and about each other, is widely recognized as an important strategy for improving collaborative practice and patient outcomes. This narrative review explores the current state and future directions of interprofessional education in cardiothoracic surgery. We conducted a literature search using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, focusing on English-language articles published after 2000. Our qualitative synthesis identified key themes related to interprofessional education interventions, outcomes, and challenges. The integration of interprofessional education in cardiothoracic surgery training programs varies across regions, with a common focus on teamwork and interpersonal communication. Simulation-based training has emerged as a leading modality for cultivating these skills in multidisciplinary settings, with studies showing improvements in team performance, crisis management, and patient safety. However, significant hurdles remain, including professional socialization, hierarchies, stereotypes, resistance to role expansion, and logistical constraints. Future efforts in this field should prioritize deeper curricular integration, continuous faculty development, strong leadership support, robust outcome evaluation, and sustained political and financial commitment. The integration of interprofessional education in cardiothoracic surgery offers considerable potential for enhancing patient care quality, but realizing this vision requires a multifaceted approach. This approach must address individual, organizational, and systemic factors to build an evidence-based framework for implementation.

The integration of psychology and medicine: an empirical study of curriculum reform from the perspective of China

Under the background of new medicine, innovative reform of medical education is mushrooming in Mainland, China. New medicine advocates an innovative training mode supported by medicine + X discipline. In the present study, we made use of the advantages of medical colleges to reform the curriculum of applied psychology and constructed an innovative curriculum system by integrating medicine with psychology. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the innovative curriculum system on the curriculum satisfaction of applied psychology and investigate the key factors that impact students' curriculum satisfaction. The class of 2018-2022 college students from the Department of Applied Psychology who were under different course training systems were selected to complete the curriculum evaluation questionnaire to evaluate students' curriculum satisfaction. The results demonstrated that curriculum satisfaction of the innovative curriculum system was significantly higher than that the one prior to the curriculum reform (P < 0.001), curriculum design, and teaching effect are the significant predictors affecting curriculum satisfaction. The results of this research provide innovative ideas for curriculum reform in psychology and strategies for the integration and development of medicine and psychology.

Evaluating Interprofessional Education Readiness and Perceptions Among Health Professions Students

Background

Inter-professional learning (IPL) or more broadly Inter-professional Education (IPE) refer to a pedagogical approach that involves creating a learning experience where students from different professions learn about, from, and with each other. IPE is crucial for preparing health professionals to offer patient-centered care as part of an interdisciplinary team. This study aims to assess the readiness for IPL among students from different health professions colleges at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was conducted for this study, with a total of 476 undergraduate students from College of Medicine, College of Nursing, and College of Applied Medical Sciences. By using quota sampling, the readiness for interprofessional learning scale (RIPLS) was used to assess the student's readiness for interprofessional learning.

Results

The overall mean score of RIPLS for the students participating was 76.20, with the highest mean score in teamwork and collaboration at 39.73. The lowest mean score was in roles and responsibility at 8.45. The professional identity subscale had a mean score of 26.85. A significant difference in professional identity was found between students in applied medical sciences, nursing, and medicine colleges.

Conclusion

The study reveals that undergraduate students have positive attitudes towards interprofessional education, which can enhance their engagement in developing competencies necessary for effective contribution to interprofessional healthcare teams. High readiness among medical, nursing, and applied medical sciences students allows for the Introduction of IPL.

Status quo of interprofessional education for midwifery and medical students in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Objectives

The care of women and their families around childbirth requires effective interprofessional collaboration of the midwifery and medical profession. Given the academisation of midwifery, early interaction between students of midwifery and medicine is both necessary and feasible. As there is a lack of comprehensive data on interprofessional education (IPE) for midwifery and medical students at higher education institutions in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH region), the aim was to identify existing IPE activities, and their curricular determination.

Methods

The exploratory study was conducted in the DACH region over three months (Dec. 2022-Feb. 2023). Higher education institutions offering midwifery science and/or medicine were invited to participate in a web-based survey. The questionnaire focused on the structure and curricular implementation of IPE courses, on cooperation, financial support and more.

Results

A total of 58 out of 96 invited institutions (60%) participated in the survey, of which 34 (59%) offered IPE. Eighteen institutions (19%) offered 32 IPE courses for midwifery and medical students through cooperation within faculty (n=8) and between faculties (n=10). Notably, most of these IPE courses (60%) were integrated into the required curriculum of both study programmes. Most IPE courses were offered without financial support (71%).

Conclusion

The current status quo highlighted the existence of numerous IPE offers for midwifery and medical students in the DACH region that warrant further curricular integration of proven and well-established best practice examples to further enhance these initiatives.

Problem-Based Learning for Interprofessional Education: A Review of the Concept and Its Application in a Geriatric Team

The global population is aging, with those aged 65 years or over increasing in number and accounting for a growing share of the population. There are increasing demands for geriatric care which makes the development and delivery of effective geriatric team training a priority. Training in geriatrics is complex because of the multiplicity of medical, psychosocial, and functional issues in elderly individuals which need to be addressed by a multidisciplinary approach using interprofessional education (IPE). Problem-based learning, a student-centered educational model that brings several natural strengths to IPE, is a unique curriculum replacing the traditional lecture-based learning model. This model enhances physician competency after graduation, mainly in psychosocial and teamwork issues that are fundamentally essential for geriatrics. IPE has been shown to have a substantial positive impact on team collaboration, individual development, and healthcare improvement. In this paper, we summarize the current findings from recent studies on training professionals from different healthcare disciplines to deliver care for the elderly in collaborative practice. We also discuss if an interprofessional problem-based geriatric team program in geriatrics is a promising solution to enhance professional collaboration and quality of patient care.

Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration in Teaching Between Nursing and Physical Therapy

BACKGROUND

Integrating interprofessional concepts and competencies in the classroom teaches students to perform successfully in complex interprofessional care environments. There is little information regarding the effects of interprofessional collaboration in education utilizing faculty and students from other disciplines.

METHOD

Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Survey (SCLS) scores and written responses were collected from 31 nursing students to explore nursing students' perceptions of an interprofessional collaboration in teaching between nursing and physical therapist (PT) educators.

RESULTS

Nursing students' SCLS scores were higher on days where PT educators participated in teaching students. Analysis of written responses revealed five themes: appreciation of an outside expert perspective, enhanced self-efficacy with patient mobility skills, opportunity for interprofessional collaboration, satisfaction with the learning experience, and conflicting information.

CONCLUSION

Interprofessional collaboration in teaching resulted in high levels of satisfaction and self-confidence and provided an opportunity to work toward an aspect of core competency for interprofessional collaborative practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(6):402-404.].

Interprofessional education in undergraduate dental curricula: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Health professionals who effectively communicate and coordinate their work increase patient safety and quality of care. Therefore, an interprofessional education (IPE) program may be a valuable addition to the curriculum of health science courses. This study aims to verify how IPE has been implemented in undergraduate dental program curricula.

METHODS

This is a qualitative systematic review performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines with qualitative and qualitative-quantitative studies selected in the period between 2011 and 2021. The guiding question was as follows: how has IPE been implemented in undergraduate dentistry curricula around the world? The quality of the included articles was assessed using the CASP Qualitative Checklist (2018).

RESULTS

After the review, 22 studies were selected and data were extracted following the acronym PICo (Population, phenomenon of Interest, and COntext). The majority of studies in which IPE is included in Dentistry come from North American universities. Regarding the IPE teaching methodology, the use of active methodologies was observed and the interprofessional skills most common were role clarity, teamwork, and communication.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review indicated that Dentistry is included in interprofessional activities in many studies around the world, and primarily with colleagues in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy programs. IPE teaching takes place through the use of active methodologies and develops important skills for interprofessional work.

Impact of a Grand Rounds Interprofessional Workshop: student perceptions of interprofessional socialization and cultural humility

While uniprofessional education programs develop strong student identities, they may limit the development of behaviors needed for interprofessional socialization. Interprofessional education (IPE) creates an essential platform for student engagement in the development of interprofessional socialization and cultural humility, thus enabling improvement in collaborative communication. In this quasi-experimental observational study, health professional students attended one of three Grand Rounds Interprofessional Workshops (GRIW) and completed online pre- and post-workshop surveys including sociodemographic background, the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS), and the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Checklist (CCSAC). A total of 394 students from eight professions participated in the workshop with 287 (73%) of attendees completing both pre- and post-workshop surveys. No significant differences were observed in ISVS and CCSAC scores between students across workshops. Significant pre- to post-workshop differences were found in ISVS [t (284) = 13.5, p < .001, 95%], CCSAC [t (286) = 13.8, p < .001] and the cultural competence components of cultural awareness [t (285) = 12.9, p < .001, 95%], knowledge [t (285) = 9.5, p < .001, 95%], and skills [t (286) = 13.3, p < .001, 95%]. Interprofessional education learning opportunities that integrate socialization with health professional students and cultural humility education can improve educational awareness of cultural values and communication for collaborative professional practice.

Impact of an integrated medication management model on the collaborative working relationship among healthcare professionals in a hospital: an explanatory mixed methods study

An integrated medication management (IMM) model was implemented in a medical center ward to improve the delivery of clinical pharmaceutical services (CPSs). This model incorporated a ward-based clinical pharmacist who performed medication reconciliation and medication reviews. It was perceived to promote interprofessional collaboration between pharmacists and non-pharmacist healthcare professionals (NPHPs, including attending physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the IMM on NPHPs' intentions to collaborate with pharmacists and understand the mechanism of the impact of the IMM on interprofessional collaboration. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed in the study. Initially, a questionnaire was administered to assess the effects of the IMM on NPHPs' intentions to collaborate with pharmacists. The NPHPs' experiences with the IMM were then documented using semi-structured interviews with inductive thematic analysis. Fifty-eight NPHPs completed the questionnaire, and NPHPs from the intervention ward reported a higher intention to discuss patient-related medication issues with pharmacists, indicating collaboration. Eleven NPHPs were interviewed, and they stated having better working relationships with pharmacists, experiencing more effective CPSs, and noting improved communication with pharmacists. The integration of quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrates that the critical mechanism of the IMM in promoting collaborative relationships is to integrate pharmacists into medical practice, which familiarizes NPHPs with pharmacists' roles, improves communication, and enables pharmacists to identify NPHPs' needs. To summarize, allowing ward-based pharmacists to engage in medical teams on a regular basis appears vital for improving interprofessional teamwork. Furthermore, stakeholders aiming to promote CPS in their institutions should consider the needs and communication channels among NPHPs.

Knowledge, skills, and training of community health workers to contribute to interprofessional education: a scoping review

A scoping review of 32 publications was conducted with the aim of mapping literature to determine what is known about the knowledge, skills, and training of community health workers that could contribute to interprofessional education. Interprofessional education, as a pedagogical approach, prepares health professions students to serve patients in collaboration with other health professionals to improve patient outcomes. All over the world, the role of community health workers is vital for its support of community service and community health outcomes. However, no evidence could be found on the knowledge, skills, and training of community health workers that contribute to interprofessional education. The knowledge that community health workers need to contribute to interprofessional education, as reported by the literature, relates to case management, communication, health education, recordkeeping and referrals. Skills, such as critical thinking, interprofessional collaboration, and various clinical procedures, were noted. Training approaches reported included the use of technology such as mobile phones and web-based learning. The scoping review improved our understanding of the knowledge, skills, and training of community health workers that could contribute to interprofessional education. Applying a fit-for-purpose approach, and building on existing knowledge, skills, and training, could fast-track the contribution of community health workers to interprofessional education.

Ensuring the "health" of a curricular program evaluation: Alignment and analytic quality of two instruments for use in evaluating the effectiveness of an interprofessional collaboration curriculum

To cultivate competencies in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) for patient-centered, team-based care, a multi-faceted training enhancement initiative was implemented at our academic primary care residency site. Evaluation of the activities from previously collected survey data occurred upon a 2-year review. First, the evaluation team scrutinized the instruments for alignment and appropriateness with planned IPC educational learning and behavior objectives. We found the two instruments were well supported by the literature and with appropriate evidence for validation, but were not well aligned to the objectives of this IPC training initiative, reducing appropriateness of potential inferences of the findings for this context. Second, the team assessed the analytic quality of survey results in item difficulty distribution and item fit to the requirements of a Rasch measurement model. This revealed low person separation due to high overall item agreement. Most residents agreed with most items, so the measures lacked the precision necessary to capture change in residents' IPC competency. Our instrument review serves as a reminder of the need to gather validity evidence for the use of any existing tool within a new context, and offers a generalizable strategy to evaluate data sources for appropriateness and quality within a specific program.

The value of learning virtual interprofessional collaboration during a pandemic and the future "new normal": health professions students share their experiences

This exploratory study looked at the experiences of social work, occupational therapy, and nursing students who participated in an interprofessional simulation that was offered virtually due to the impact of COVID-19. The simulation was a one-day event that introduced advanced care planning to the students through an IPE team approach and incorporated various learning and teaching modalities. Using conventional content analysis of the post-program survey data from 255 students (35 occupational therapy; 87 social work; and 133 nursing), three primary themes were identified for the value of learning virtual interprofessional collaboration during a pandemic: (1) catalyst for telehealth education; (2) patient, family & professional safety; and (3) connection and continuity of care. In addition, students identified four primary themes that were learned and perceptions of what could lie ahead beyond the simulation: (1) patient & family convenience and inclusion; (2) expand interprofessional team involvement; (3) alleviate disparities/increase access; and (4) the "new normal" of virtual IP Collaboration.

Implementing An External Student Placement Strategy Into an Undergraduate Chiropractic Curriculum in the United Kingdom: An Education Descriptive Report

Objective

The aim of this descriptive report is to describe the development and implementation of a placement strategy into an entry-level chiropractic course within the United Kingdom.

Methods

Placements are educational experiences during which students can observe or apply theory in real practice situations. For this study, the placement strategy was developed for the chiropractic program at Teesside University through an initial working group that generated its aims, objectives, and philosophy. Evaluation surveys were completed for each module containing placement hours. The median and interquartile range (IQR) were calculated for combined responses using a Likert scale (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree). Students were allowed to provide comments.

Results

A total of 42 students participated. Placement hours were divided across all taught years (Academic Year 1: 11%; Year 2: 11%; Year 3: 26%; Year 4: 52%). Data were evaluated 2 years post-launch, with 40 students reporting to be satisfied overall with Year 1 (median 1, IQR 1-2) and Year 2 (1, IQR 1-2) placement modules. Participants perceived that placement experiences were applicable to the workplace and their future careers across modules in both Year 1 (1, IQR 1-2) and Year 2 (1, IQR 1-1.5) and that continuous feedback improved their clinical learning (Year 1 [1, IQR 1-2]; Year 2 [1, IQR 1-2]).

Conclusion

This report describes the strategy and student evaluation findings over its 2-year inception, exploring the principles of interprofessional learning, reflective practice, and authentic assessment. The strategy was implemented successfully following placement acquisition and auditing processes. Student feedback reported overall satisfaction with the strategy, which was associated with graduate-ready skills.

Perception of Interprofessional Education among Students Following Pharmacy Studies

INTRODUCTION

Interprofessional Education (IPE) activities are a first experience of real-world patient care practice for students, where collaboration with different professions is appreciated. Methods and timing of inclusion of IPE are not well-defined, and it is interesting to assess students' perception on IPE activities.

OBJECTIVE

To assess changes in pharmacy students' perception of IPE before (t0) and after (t1) an IPE activity.

METHODS

The 'Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised 2' (SPICE-R2) tool was adopted to assess perception of IPE activities in third year pharmacy students, final year pharmacy students and in postgraduate Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD) students at t0 and t1.

RESULTS

The SPICE-R2 tool was completed at t0 and t1 by 61 students: 12 third year pharmacy students, 13 final year students and 36 PharmD students. A significant improvement between t0 and t1 (P < .05) was measured in the three groups of students for all three subscales of the tool. The largest improvement was observed in the 'Roles/Responsibilities for Collaborative Practice' subscale in all three groups of students.

CONCLUSION

Perception of IPE was positively increased in all three student groups. The results could be useful to support the design of IPE activities within pharmacy programmes.

From self-regulation to co-regulation: refining learning presence in a community of inquiry in interprofessional education

INTRODUCTION

Online interprofessional education is a collaborative process that emphasizes both individual reflection and shared discourses. A useful analytical tool for understanding the complex dynamics of online collaborative learning is the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, which originally held that there are three types of presence in such learning: teaching, cognitive, and social. However, it was later revised to include learning presence, which is characterized by self-regulated learning. Our study aims to refine the construct of learning presence through a clearer understanding of how self- and co-regulation jointly influence learning outcomes.

METHODS

We surveyed 110 people involved with an online interprofessional medical-education curriculum at a university in Hong Kong. Path analysis was adopted to explore the relationships among 1) the three original presences of CoI; 2) learning presence (i.e., for this purpose, a combination of self-regulation and co-regulation); and 3) two learning outcomes: perceived progress and learner satisfaction.

RESULTS

The results of path analysis indicated that teaching presence had a significant indirect effect, through co-regulation, on perceived progress. In terms of direct relationships, co-regulation significantly and positively influenced both self-regulation and cognitive presence; and social presence had both positive influence on learners' satisfaction and perceived progress.

DISCUSSION

This study's findings suggest the important role of co-regulation in supporting self-regulation, especially in online collaborative-learning environments. Learners' self-regulation skills are shaped by their social interactions and regulatory activities with others. This further implies that health-professions educators and instructional designers should create learning activities that facilitate the development of co-regulatory skills, as a means of improving learning outcomes. As self-regulation is an important skill for health professions learners' lifelong learning, and because their future workplaces will be interdisciplinary in nature, it is critical to provide interactive and collaborative learning environments that will promote co-regulation and self-regulation.

Evaluation of a newly developed flipped-classroom course on interprofessional practice in health care for medical students

Interprofessional education is expected to promote collaborative practice and should therefore be included in health professionals' curricula. Reports on interprofessional curricular development and its evaluation are rare. We therefore undertook a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a new, mandatory course on interprofessional collaboration for medical students during their third year of the Bachelor of Medicine study programme. The newly developed and implemented course spans over six weeks and was designed in a hybrid, flipped-classroom format. It incorporates experience- and case-based learning as well as interactions with other health professionals. Each student completes an eLearning and a clinical workshadowing individually before attending the - due to the pandemic - virtual live lectures. To assess quality and usefulness of teaching-learning formats and course structure to learn about interprofessional collaboration and to develop interprofessional competencies and identity, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed with more than 280 medical students and 26 nurse educators from teaching hospitals using online surveys (open & closed-ended format). Data were analyzed descriptively and using content analysis processes. Students appreciated the flipped-classroom concept, the real-world case-based learning scenarios with interprofessional lecturer teams, and the possibility of an experience-based learning opportunity in the clinical setting including interaction with students and professionals from other health professions. Interprofessional identity did not change during the course. Evaluation data showed that the course is a promising approach for teaching-learning interprofessional competencies to medical students. The evaluation revealed three factors that determined the success of this course, namely, a flipped-classroom concept, the individual workshadowing of medical students with another health professional, mainly nurses, and live sessions with interprofessional teaching-learning teams. The course structure and teaching-learning methods showed potential and could serve as a template for interprofessional course development in other institutions and on other course topics.

Medical Students' Perception of Interprofessional Education: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objective Interprofessional education (IPE) involves learners from multiple health professions learning collaboratively to improve patient care. This study assessed medical students' perceptions of IPE at Taibah University in Saudi Arabia. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 319 medical students in years two to six of graduate medical school and internships completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire between April 2022 and July 2022. RIPLS consists of 19 items measuring teamwork/collaboration, negative/positive professional identity, and roles/responsibilities. Comparisons were made based on gender and academic level by using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results Students generally expressed positive attitudes towards IPE. The majority agreed that IPE improves teamwork, communication, and patient care. In our cohort, 148 students (46.4%) strongly agreed and 140 (43.9%) agreed that shared learning enhances understanding of clinical problems. However, 186 students (60%) disagreed that clinical problem-solving is profession-specific. On the teamwork/collaboration subscale, 279 students (87.7%) strongly agreed that learning with others makes them more effective team members. Regarding negative identity, 186 students (58.3%) disagreed that learning with other students wastes time. By gender, males had lower ranks for negative identity (p=0.03) and positive identity (p=0.03) versus females. As for academic level, clinical students and interns had higher and lower ranks, respectively, for negative identity (p<0.01). Conclusion Based on our findings, medical students generally hold favorable views toward IPE and recognize its benefits for collaboration, communication, and patient care. Incorporating IPE throughout medical training may further improve attitudes and interprofessional skills.

Framing asynchronous interprofessional education: a qualitative study on medical, physiotherapy and nursing students

Objectives

To explore how virtual, asynchronous modules can be used in interprofessional health education curricula and to identify any advantages and shortcomings of asynchronous interprofessional education.

Methods

A sample of 27 health professional students who attended in-person interprofessional education workshops at the McMaster Centre for Simulation-Based Learning from 2019-2020 were recruited through email discourse. Participants were asked to complete an asynchronous interprofessional education module and take part in a semi-structured interview that was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Techniques of direct content analysis were used to analyze the qualitative data from recorded transcripts.

Results

The following emergent themes from participants' responses were identified: 1) the modules, as well as the features interspersed throughout, taught strategies for conflict resolution and interprofessional communication, 2) the modules have utility in preparing students for future interprofessional learning, 3) the convenience of virtual asynchronous modules introduces a sense of learner safety, and 4) a sense of isolation and fatigue was identified as a consequence of the lack of face-to-face interaction in these modules.

Conclusion

Asynchronous interprofessional education modules may be best suited to prepare students for future interprofessional learning in a synchronous setting. Asynchronous modules effectively provide an introduction to interprofessional objectives such as conflict resolution and role clarification, yet the competency of team functioning is more difficult to achieve in an asynchronous environment. Future studies may focus on establishing a sequence of completing asynchronous modules for ideal development of interprofessional competencies in health professions learners.

Interprofessional Education in NAACLS MLT and MLS Programs: Results of a National Survey

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education is essential for students enrolled in health care professional programs.

OBJECTIVES

We assessed the attitudes towards and the beliefs about interprofessional education (IPE) among program directors of medical laboratory science (MLS) and medical laboratory technician (MLT) programs accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). We also investigated the inclusion of IPE in the curricula of such programs.

METHODS

We emailed the link to an anonymous 22-item cross-sectional survey to 468 program directors and tabulated the responses.

RESULTS

Program directors who support the need to include IPE within the curricula of MLT and MLS programs showed a generally positive attitude towards IPE. The beliefs about IPE among our respondents were not homogeneous. Program directors who have not yet implemented IPE in the curriculum may not have had an opportunity to experience the practical benefits of IPE.

CONCLUSION

Although barriers to IPE implementation exist, half of the respondents reported having already implemented IPE within their curricula.

Transitioning from professional to interprofessional identity

The author highlights reasons why a more comprehensive research agenda is needed to extend theories and methodologies investigating interprofessional identity within the context of interprofessional education.

Effect of an Educational Video Miniseries on Interprofessional Preceptor Development

OBJECTIVE

Experiential rotation preceptors may lack confidence in instructing interprofessional learners. This study examined the effect of a 12-episode, professionally produced video miniseries on attitudinal, satisfaction, and confidence outcomes in a cohort of interprofessional preceptors comprising pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other allied health professionals.

METHODS

An invitation to view the miniseries was distributed to all health science preceptors within 1 large, public health science university. Participants were asked survey questions addressing their attitudes toward the miniseries, their comfort in precepting, and their satisfaction with the miniseries.

RESULTS

A total of 61 interprofessional preceptors enrolled in the study, with 33 completing the entire miniseries. Participants displayed highly positive attitudes toward the miniseries. In addition, members of all professions enrolled demonstrated an increase in precepting confidence after viewing the miniseries episodes (2.31 vs 2.7 on a 3-point Likert scale). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that preceptors with>10 years of professional experience displayed less positive attitudes toward the miniseries than those with 2-10 years of professional experience.

CONCLUSION

The miniseries model proved effective as a preceptor development strategy for a group of health professional preceptors. Given the diversity of learners, a collection of training options that allows preceptor self-selection of programming may be beneficial.

Visual thinking strategies for interprofessional education and promoting collaborative competencies

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education (IPE) curricula require approaches that address the needs of learners from multiple professions and levels of clinical experience. Frameworks based in the arts and humanities, which can improve learners' skills in collaborative competencies such as communication and team building, remain limited in IPE. We describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a visual arts-based IPE session for over 400 interprofessional learners.

APPROACH

During the 90-min session held in 2021, an art museum educator first guided learners through observations of art works using the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) approach. Subsequently, small groups of six to eight interprofessional learners and two trained facilitators explored how their observations were influenced by personal and professional identities and made connections to interprofessional collaborative practice.

EVALUATION

Two hundred eleven of the 407 student attendees responded to the post-session survey (52%). Eighty percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that 'the art of observation activity is an effective means of starting discussions with interprofessional teams.' On the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey, a validated tool assessing changes in interprofessional collaboration-related competencies, there was a significant increase between pre- (M = 45.73, SD = 8.05, p < 0.001) and post-session scores (M = 51.46, SD = 7.97, p < 0.001), using a paired t-test analysis. Qualitative analysis of learners' takeaways identified themes of open-mindedness, hearing other opinions and perspectives, collaboration/teamwork, patient-centeredness and awareness of biases.

IMPLICATIONS

Our curricular approach shows how integrating visual arts-based pedagogies into IPE activities with learners from diverse disciplines and clinical experiences is both feasible and helpful for developing collaborative competencies.

Comparing Expectations: How Pharmacy Students View Physician Assistant and Medical Students

PURPOSE

The aim of this prospective, perception scale study was to evaluate pharmacy student expectations and perceptions of student medical providers before and after interprofessional education (IPE).

METHODS

Using pre- and postactivity surveys, the expectations and perceptions of 2 cohorts of third-year pharmacy students who worked with first-year physician assistant (PA) students and second-year medical (MD) students in an evidence-based, case-based IPE session were compared.

RESULTS

Before engaging in the interprofessional activities, the pharmacy students' (N = 131) expectations were either similar for both student provider groups or greater for MD students. However, these expectations differed significantly from postactivity perceptions. After completion of the IPE experiences, when compared with MD students, PA students were perceived as having equal or greater knowledge of patient care (60.2 vs. 12%, P < .001), demonstrating equal or superior application of evidence-based practice (46.6 vs. 5.3%, P < .001), being equally or more collaborative (54.1 vs. 10.5%, P < .001), and being equally easy or easier to work with (69.9 vs. 10.5%, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

The magnitude of shift in expectations and perceptions demonstrates the value of IPE and underscores the high caliber of PA educational standards.

THE CONTENTS, METHODS, AND ASSESSMENT OF EVIDENCE-BASED DENTISTRY EDUCATION: A SCOPING REVIEW

OBJECTIVE

With evidence-based dentistry (EBD) having a far-reaching influence on oral healthcare, dental educators worldwide have made joint efforts to integrate EBD-related knowledge and skills into dental education. The present scoping review aims to identify and summarize the existing teaching contents, teaching methods, and assessment strategies of EBD education.

METHODS

Electronic (PubMed and Embase) and manual searches were performed to identify articles related to both "dental education" and "evidence-based practice." Based on predetermined eligibility criteria, articles were selected by 2 reviewers, independently and in duplicate. Data synthesis was conducted based on teaching contents, teaching strategies, and teaching assessment.

RESULTS

Of the 1758 articles found in the literature searches, 74 were deemed eligible and included in this review. A total of 4 basic skills (problem formulation, literature searching, critical appraisal, and research methodology), 5 teaching methods, and 6 assessment strategies were identified. In most of the articles, 2, or more skills were taught, and a combination of traditional strategies for teaching and its assessment (eg, courses and questionnaire survey) was involved. Other teaching methods, such as journal clubs and workshops, were seldom used, and validated assessment tools accounted for a relatively small proportion of the assessment strategies involved.

CONCLUSIONS

The contents, methods and assessment of EBD education have been widely studied and discussed. However, the current literature focuses mainly on teaching of critical appraisal skills, traditional teaching methods, and short-term outcome assessments. Future research in this area can be aimed at integrating all EBD-related skills into educational models, studying multifaceted teaching approaches, and developing comprehensive teaching outcome assessment methods based on validated tools and dental patient-reported outcomes.

Drug information-seeking behaviours of physicians, nurses and pharmacists: A systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

Medication use typically involves physicians prescribing, pharmacists reviewing, and nurses administering medications to patients. Drug information (DI) is often required during the process, with the various health care professionals (HCPs) seeking information differently according to their needs and familiarity with various resources.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic literature review aims to evaluate studies on drug information-seeking behaviour (ISB) of physicians, nurses and pharmacists to ascertain their DI needs, DI sources used, facilitators and barriers to DI-seeking.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Embase.com, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Library to identify eligible primary research articles published between January 2000 and May 2020.

RESULTS

The reviewed studies (N = 48) revealed that HCPs have a wide range of DI needs, with the top needs being similar across the three HCPs. Information sources used most often by all three groups were tertiary, followed by human and primary sources. Factors relating to the source characteristics were the most reported facilitators and barriers to DI-seeking. Some differences in drug ISB were also identified.

CONCLUSION

Our findings can also guide information providers and educators to optimize information provision. It may also facilitate effective communication amongst HCPs when obtaining DI from or providing DI to one another.

Conceptualisation, development and implementation of Interprofessional Education programmes: A qualitative document analysis

Interprofessional Education (IPE) occurs when two or more health professionals learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration within a healthcare team and represents a key step towards the realisation of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP) which, in turn, enhances the healthcare outcomes of patients. Many health professions education institutions are taking on the challenge of developing IPE programmes and it is essential to provide evidence-based information to guide these institutions in their journey. We analysed the IPE programmes of six health professions education institutions from High-Income Countries and Low- and Middle-Income Countries according to the 12 steps of IPE programme introduction for health professions. This paper provides a step-by-step guide and 'to-do list' to help educators to conceptualise, develop, implement and review their IPE programmes. We recommend that institutions review and contextualise these findings and implement them in their IPE programmes from conception to final review.

Reevaluating Core Elements of Emotional Intelligence in Professional Identity Formation for Inclusion in Pharmacy Education

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this review are to (1) analyze the core concepts of emotional intelligence self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal relationships, decision-making skills, and stress management and their role in professional identity formation, and (2) investigate the methods and strategies to incorporate emotional intelligence in pharmacy education.

FINDINGS

A literature review of emotional intelligence in health care education was conducted by searching the electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and ERIC. The following search terms were included: emotional intelligence, emotional quotient, in association with professional identity formation, pharmacy curriculum, pharmacy cocurriculum, entrustable professional activities, medicine, and nursing. Only full-length, free-access, English-text articles were included. Twenty articles addressed the inclusion and/or assessment of core elements of emotional intelligence in pharmacy education. Commonly taught, cultivated, and assessed core elements include self-awareness, empathy, and interdisciplinary relationships. Assessment tools used to evaluate emotional intelligence in pharmacy education are subjective, qualitative, and semiquantitative, and may include pre and postcourse surveys, event surveys, and questionnaires.

SUMMARY

The pharmacy literature is scarce on how best to analyze emotional intelligence and the role it plays in the pharmacist's education and practice. A comprehensive integration of emotional intelligence into the pharmacy curriculum is a challenging task and requires additional in-depth discussions on how best to incorporate it in the pharmacist's professional identity formation. The Academy will benefit from re-engaging its constituents in addressing the gaps of emotional intelligence in the professional curriculum in preparation for the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education 2025 standards.

Nurse views of obstacles encountered by nurses in Saudi Arabia during the provision of psychiatric care

BACKGROUND

Nursing staff within the mental health sector are major actors in delivering healthcare. They face considerable obstacles that may hinder the provision of high-quality care to patients with mental health challenges.

AIM

The current study offers a description of mental health nurses' viewpoints, insights into obstacles encountered during their experiences, and recommendations for enhancing psychiatric inpatient nursing care and achieving progress toward the goals set out by Saudi Vision 2030.

METHODS

The study employed a phenomenological qualitative design. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 currently practicing mental health nurses during two focus group sessions. The inductive data produced underwent member and peer checking. Emergent themes and subthemes were extracted.

RESULTS

Two main themes and related subthemes were identified. The first theme-obstacles faced by mental health nurses-was composed of the following subthemes: policy at institutions; clear job roles; low professional self-confidence and inadequate support; stressed, insecure, and unsafe; and stigmatization. The second theme-recommendations to improve the quality of mental health nursing-was composed of two subthemes: to enhance mental health awareness and improve professional skills and education.

CONCLUSION

The data suggest that maintaining high-quality nursing standards within an inpatient psychiatric facility requires a consistent and accountable organizational structure, which can lead to fostering the development and improvement of relevant nursing skills through continuing education, improved awareness of mental health disorders and care within the community, and initiatives to combat the stigma of mental disorders among patients, families, and communities.

Interprofessional peer-assisted learning for pharmacy and physical therapy students using inhalers and inhalation devices

BACKGROUND

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is exchanging knowledge between learners often from similar professional levels. Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of PAL between different healthcare professions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, confidence, and perception of students engaged in an interprofessional PAL activity with pharmacy students instructing physical therapy students on the proper technique, cleaning/storage and therapeutic knowledge on inhaler devices for treatment of pulmonary conditions.

METHODS

Pharmacy and physical therapy students completed a survey before and immediately after the PAL activity. As instructors, pharmacy students rated their experience with inhalers, their confidence if they were to assist clients on the use of inhaler devices and confidence in teaching peers. Physical therapy students completed surveys on inhaler knowledge with 10 scenario-based multiple-choice questions, and their confidence if they were to assist clients with inhaler devices. The knowledge questions were grouped into three categories: storage and cleaning of inhalers (3 questions), technique of using inhalers (4 questions), and therapeutic knowledge of drugs given by inhalation (3 questions).

RESULTS

102 physical therapy and 84 pharmacy students completed the activity and surveys. For the physical therapy students, the mean improvement of the total score for knowledge-based questions was 3.6 ± 1.8 (p < 0.001). The question with the fewest number of correct answers (13%) before the PAL activity had the highest number of correct answers post-activity (95%). Prior to the activity, no physical therapy students felt certain/very certain about their knowledge on inhalers, yet after PAL activity this proportion increased to 35%. The percent of pharmacy students reporting their confidence as "certain" and "very certain" in teaching peers increased from 46% before the activity to 90% afterwards. Pharmacy students rated the monitoring and follow-up of inhaler devices as the lowest expectation for physical therapists to play a role. Steps taken to prepare for this PAL activity were also discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

Interprofessional PAL can increase knowledge and confidence of healthcare students reciprocally learning and teaching in joint activities. Allowing such interactions facilitate students to build interprofessional relationships during their training, which can increase communication and collaboration to foster an appreciation for each other's roles in clinical practice.

Advancing Pharmacogenomics-Based Care Through Interprofessional Education

As genomic medicine becomes increasingly complex, pharmacists need to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to provide genomics-based care. The core pharmacist competencies in genomics were recently updated and mapped to the entrustable professional activities (EPAs). The new competency that is mapped to the "Interprofessional Team Member" EPA domain emphasizes the role of pharmacists as the pharmacogenomics experts in an interprofessional healthcare team. Interprofessional education (IPE) activities involving student pharmacists and students from other healthcare disciplines are crucial to prepare student pharmacists for a team-based approach to patient-centered care. This commentary discusses the pharmacogenomics-focused IPE activities implemented by 3 programs, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned. It also discusses strategies to develop pharmacogenomics-focused IPE activities based on existing resources. Developing pharmacogenomics-focused IPE activities will help prepare pharmacy graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to lead collaborative, interprofessional teams in the provision of pharmacogenomics-based care, consistent with the standards described in the genomics competencies for pharmacists.

Key Maternity Care Stakeholders' Views on Midwives' Professional Autonomy

Advancement towards the professionalism of midwifery is closely linked to midwives' professional autonomy. Although the perspectives of Belgian midwives on their professional autonomy have been studied, the views of other maternity care stakeholders are a blind spot. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore maternity care stakeholders' views on Belgian midwives' professional autonomy. A qualitative exploratory study was performed using focus group interviews. A heterogenous group of 27 maternity care stakeholders participated. The variation between midwives, with different levels of autonomy, was reported. The analysis of the data resulted in five themes: (1) The autonomous midwife is adequately educated and committed to continuous professional further education, (2) The autonomous midwife is competent, (3) The autonomous midwife is experienced, (4) The autonomous midwife assures safe and qualitative care, and (5) The autonomous midwife collaborates with all stakeholders in maternity care. A maternity collaborative framework, where all maternity care professionals respect each other's competences and autonomy, is crucial for providing safe and quality care. To achieve this, it is recommended to implement interprofessional education to establish strong foundations for interprofessional collaboration. Additionally, a regulatory body with supervisory powers can help ensure safe and quality care, while also supporting midwives' professional autonomy and professionalisation.

Insights Into Learning Among Physical Therapy, Medical, and Nursing Students Following a Simulation-Based, Interprofessional Patient Safety Course

As the need for a strong interdisciplinary approach in the delivery of healthcare services becomes increasingly vital, interprofessional education (IPE) is essential to equip healthcare professionals of the future to deliver better care. IPE encounters using simulation-based education can be a powerful tool in inculcating pre-professional students with foundational tools for successful interprofessional work. This qualitative study explores the learning that occurs during IPE encounters that include nursing, physical therapy, and medical students. The results of this work highlight how important IPE encounters are in uncovering and changing cross-disciplinary notions about knowledge, skills, role, and team contributions. Specifically, our analysis demonstrated that there are common misunderstandings about contemporary roles, knowledge, and skills of physical therapists among both nursing and medical students that can be corrected in IPE encounters. Results also demonstrated that careful planning can bolster opinions of the value of activities embedded as part of a larger course. Moreover, planning and attention to the specific educational needs of all students may prevent any group feeling that their educational needs were not fully met across all disciplines. The findings support the consideration that IPE can be an important method to instill foundational interprofessional knowledge, skills, and attitudes to promote a foundation from which to establish strong career-long interprofessional collaborations. It is important to lay foundational interprofessional skills and appreciation of the 'other' in pre-licensure curricula, but these efforts should not be limited to only pre-licensure programs and need also to be included as part of on-going professional development education, especially as healthcare education, roles, and responsibilities evolve.

Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Among Students of Four Undergraduate Health Professions Education Programs

BACKGROUND

In interprofessional learning, students from different professions learn about, from, and with each other so that they can collaborate effectively, deliver high-quality healthcare, and achieve positive health outcomes. This study aimed to explore the readiness of students from four health professions education programs for interprofessional learning.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 339 students. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used. Paired-samples t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare the responses of participants. Correlations between dependent and independent variables were explored by Pearson's correlation test. The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The reliability study of the collected data showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's ɑ = 0.819). Results revealed a statistically significant difference between the responses of students from the four programs regarding the "Roles and Responsibilities" subscale (p = 0.000). A statistically significant difference between male and female students regarding two statements within the "Teamwork and Collaboration" subscale and one statement within the "Negative Professional Identity" subscale (p < 0.05) was also detected. The correlation study showed a weak but statistically significant correlation between RIPLS mean scores and the students' study program (p < 0.015).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the students showed readiness for IPL as evidenced by their positive perception of the interprofessional learning concepts.

Integrated Case Presentation Seminar: Bridging Parallel Fields to Improve Psychiatry and Psychology Learner Experience

Daily clinical practice of mental health professionals often requires interaction between providers from diverse training and professional backgrounds. Efforts to engage mental health trainees across disciplines are necessary and have had varied outcomes. The current study reviews the development and implementation of a monthly one-hour integrated case presentation seminar (ICPS) as part of independent psychology and psychiatry two-year fellowships at a Midwestern teaching hospital. The training integrated a semi-structured seminar to facilitate case presentation within a group setting. The focus of the seminar was to allow for exposure to conceptualization, diagnostic, and treatment strategies and skills, as well as science-based practice techniques for trainees. Learner survey results and the sustained offering of the seminar suggest the format and goals of the seminar are feasible and acceptable. Based on the current preliminary findings, similar training programs may find benefit in strategies to enhance integrated training opportunities for psychiatry and psychology trainees.

Patient-centered simulation: Practicing interprofessional teamwork with standardized patients

The simulation environment provides opportunities for students to practice interprofessional skills in an authentic, yet safe setting. We discuss an interprofessional learning activity called Team Care Planning designed to teach interprofessional teamwork using a simulated discharge meeting involving an elderly female patient who had a cerebral vascular accident (stroke) and her adult daughter, played by standardized patients Interprofessional teams of health professions students work together to discuss the discharge plan and meet with the patient/family. Teamwork is evaluated using the Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide®, completed by the students, faculty observers, and standardized patients. Students also report their perception of knowledge and skills gained from the interprofessional activity in an electronic evaluation. Analysis of the data indicates the initial goals of the program are being met. Students report greater understanding of roles/responsibilities of team members; and students, faculty, and standardized patients rate the experience high in terms of the quality of the teamwork. Debriefing with faculty observers promotes student reflection on performance. Receiving feedback from the standardized patients informs student personal and professional development.

Trauma Team High-Fidelity Simulation Training in a Rural Level III Trauma Center: An Interprofessional Experience

BACKGROUND

Emergency department trauma resuscitation requires teamwork and high-stakes clinical decision-making. Rural trauma centers with low trauma activation volumes must ensure that resuscitations are efficient and safe.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of high-fidelity, interprofessional simulation training to foster trauma teamwork and role identification for trauma team members responding to trauma activations in the emergency department.

METHODS

High-fidelity, interprofessional simulation training was developed for members of a rural Level III trauma center. Subject matter experts created trauma scenarios. An embedded participant led the simulations using a guidebook that outlined the scenario and learner objectives. The simulations were implemented from May 2021 through September 2021.

RESULTS

Postsimulation survey results identified that participants found training with other professions valuable and that knowledge was gained.

CONCLUSION

Interprofessional simulations enhance team communication and skills. Combining interprofessional education with high-fidelity simulation creates a learning environment that optimizes trauma team function.

Facilitators for developing an interprofessional learning culture in nursing homes: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Healthcare professionals in nursing homes face complex care demands and nursing staff shortages. As a result, nursing homes are transforming into home-like personalised facilities that deliver person-centred care. These challenges and changes require an interprofessional learning culture in nursing homes, but there is little understanding of the facilitators that contribute to developing such a culture. This scoping review aims to identify those facilitators.

METHODS

A scoping review was performed in accordance with the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2020). The search was carried out in 2020-2021 in seven international databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science). Two researchers independently extracted reported facilitators that contribute to an interprofessional learning culture in nursing homes. Then the researchers inductively clustered the extracted facilitators into categories.

RESULTS

In total, 5,747 studies were identified. After removing duplicates and screening titles, abstracts and full texts, 13 studies that matched the inclusion criteria were included in this scoping review. We identified 40 facilitators and clustered them into eight categories: (1) shared language, (2) shared goals, (3) clear tasks and responsibilities, (4) learning and sharing knowledge, (5) work approaches, (6) facilitating and supporting change and creativity by the frontline manager, (7) an open attitude, and (8) a safe, respectful and transparent environment.

CONCLUSION

We found facilitators that could be used to discuss the current interprofessional learning culture in nursing homes and identify where improvements are required. Further research is needed to discover how to operationalise facilitators that develop an interprofessional learning culture in nursing homes and to gain insights into what works, for whom, to what extent and in what context.

Everybody Copes: An Interprofessional Workshop on Stress, Coping, and Helping Primary Care Patients Manage Medical Stressors

INTRODUCTION

The value of psychological principles has become apparent in medical settings, especially with the rise of patient-centered care. We aimed to provide a curriculum informing medical providers about the theoretical basis and clinical utility of the social-cognitive model of stress and coping.

METHODS

This workshop was delivered to an interprofessional team of faculty and trainees. Our initial pedagogical approach was to relate the concepts of cognitive appraisals and coping strategies to participants' own stress responses. We then used didactic presentation and small-group activities to explore ways to promote adaptive coping with patients to improve health outcomes. Learners participated in a mindfulness exercise, conceptualized coping strategies given a hypothetical case scenario, and, in small groups, role-played a patient encounter to construct an effective coping repertoire for the patient. Participants completed a prework self-assessment and workshop evaluation form.

RESULTS

The 2.5-hour workshop had 48 participants from five professions (medicine, education, physician assistant, pharmacology, psychology). We received 35 evaluations (73% response rate). Learners reported increased real-world skills (M = 8.0 out of 10) and feeling better prepared for working in interprofessional settings (M = 7.6 out of 10). Qualitative feedback suggested that participants recognized the importance of individual differences in coping with stress and felt they could categorize strategies into emotion- or problem-focused coping.

DISCUSSION

This workshop provided participants with basic knowledge about the social-cognitive model of stress and coping and allowed them to practice newly learned skills in a role-play as an interprofessional medical care team.

Building Collaborative Capacity in Early Intervention Preservice Providers Through Interprofessional Education

PURPOSE

Interprofessional practice within early intervention is underscored by policy, research, and recommended practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a brief interprofessional training on preservice speech-language pathology, early intervention/early childhood special education, physical therapy, and occupational therapy students' knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about teaming and collaboration. Students' satisfaction with and perspectives of the training were also examined.

METHOD

A one-group, pretest-posttest design was used to examine differences in 36 students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs around interprofessional practice after the training. Descriptive approaches were used to analyze student satisfaction data and focus group data in order to evaluate student perceptions of the interprofessional training.

RESULTS

A paired-samples t test showed preservice students demonstrated increased scores in self-perceived ability, value, and comfort in working with others after the training institute. Descriptive analyses illustrated students gained a richer knowledge and appreciation for other disciplines and perceived the practice of interprofessional collaboration as a valuable learning experience.

CONCLUSION

The interprofessional training procedures, evaluation of impacts, and future directions are discussed.

Assessment of nursing undergraduate's perceptions of Interprofessional learning: A cross-sectional study

Background

Inter-Professional Learning (IPE) is based on mutual respect, and it improves collaboration and teamwork, and satisfaction among students and professionals.

Objective

This study aimed to assess the perceptions of IPE among Nursing students in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional survey-based study conducted among students from three different universities in Saudi Arabia, among nursing students over 6 months from May 2021 to October 2021. Descriptive analysis was used to assess the perceptions of IPE and inferential testing was used to assess the association of perception scores among variables using a statistical package for social science version 26 (SPSS).

Results

A total of 517 participants responded to the questionnaires. A higher proportion (n = 281, 54.4%) of the participants were females and were between 21 and 24 (n = 350; 67.7%) years old. The mean age of the participants was 21.35 (SD = 1.46). The majority of them were from King Saud University (n = 273, 52.8%), followed by King Khalid University (n = 127, 24.6%). Of the participants (80.4 %) agreed learning with other students will help them to become more effective members of a healthcare team. The mean overall score for RIPLS was 70.85 (SD = 6.611). The mean score for teamwork and collaboration was 37.19 (SD = 4.79), professional identity, 23.23 (SD = 2.89), roles and responsibilities 10.42 (SD = 2.20). The mean score is significantly associated with the university type (p = 0.0001), and previous knowledge of IPE (p = 0.0001).

Conclusion

The majority of the students had positive perceptions of understanding IPE and a good level of preparation for IPE. This means that if IPE is conducted among Saudi students, students will benefit from it, and it has the potential to improve their capacity to deliver holistic nursing care to their patients.

Development of an interprofessional task-based learning program in the field of occupational health: a content validity study

OBJECTIVE

One of the duties of the educational system is to provide situations in which students learn the tasks corresponding to their future careers in an interprofessional team. This study was designed to develop an interprofessional task-based training program.

METHODS

This was a curriculum development study conducted by content validity methodology in two stages: 1) 'framework development' which resulted in the creation of the framework items; and 2) 'evaluation of the framework' (judgment and quantification). The first stage consisted of task identification, generation of sub-tasks, and assimilation of items into a usable format. The second stage consisted of the judgment -quantification of the content validity of items and the framework. After that, the framework of the tasks of the occupational health team was finalized in the expert panel. After explaining the tasks, a matrix for task-expected roles in the occupational health team and a matrix for task-required skills to perform each task were developed. The next step determined the appropriate teaching and assessment methods for each task. Finally, an expert panel reviewed and approved the components of the interprofessional task-based training program.

RESULTS

Integrating the interprofessional education strategy with task-based learning was considered innovative in occupational health team training. In the development stage, 48 items were extracted, and then 35 tasks were generated in the step of identification of tasks. In the second step, 174 sub-tasks were developed. The tasks and sub-tasks were categorized into seven areas. After the stage of evaluation of the framework, 33 tasks were categorized into seven main areas, including "assessment and identification of workplace hazards" (n = 10), "control of occupational hazards" (n = 4), "determining the appropriate job position for each person" (n = 3), "occupational health examinations" (n = 6), "management of occupational/work-related diseases" (n = 5), "inter-organizational and inter-disciplinary relations, and legal judgment" (n = 3) and "education and scholarship in occupational health services" (n = 2).

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study can be used in developing the use of the interprofessional strategy and task-based training as two appropriate strategies for the purposeful development of learners' abilities in the fields involved in providing occupational health services in their future careers.

Exploring the opportunities and challenges to implementing interprofessional education in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study among faculty

Interprofessional education (IPE) has potential benefits for improving the quality of patient care, but its implementation is challenged with multiple barriers. The primary objectives of this study were to explore the challenges, benefits, and incentives to establishing IPE from the perspective of healthcare faculty at King Saud University. Forty-five faculty members attended six focus groups, each consisting of 6-8 faculty members representing the five colleges. The focus group interview guide included the benefits of and barriers to establishing IPE in this academic institution, curricular design, and the feasibility of support from the colleges and University administration. A SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Challenges) frame work was utilized to guide the focus group discussions, and the data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged and were related to (i) barriers, (ii) benefits, (iii) opportunities to facilitate the introduction of IPE, and (iv) suggestions on how to implement IPE and overcome challenges to establish an IPE curriculum. Participants were generally supportive of IPE and aware of the constraints that might impede its implementation. Moreover, they identified potential barriers and incentives to promote IPE. Although participants appreciated the long-term benefits of IPE, creating a supportive environment will require the involvement of the academic community, including students, faculty members, and the University's top management.

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

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

Autonomous motivation predicts students' engagement and disaffection in interprofessional education: Scale adaptation and application

OBJECTIVES

Despite the popularity of interprofessional education, the empirical and theoretical development of its scholarship and science is just emerging. This may be caused in part by the non-availability of measures that can be used by researchers in this field. This study aimed to contribute to the psychological theorizing of interprofessional education by uncovering the psychometric properties of Perceived Locus of Causality adapted to Interprofessional Education (PLOC-IPE) in healthcare education and provide a comprehensive guide on how this can be used to advance the IPE research agenda.

METHODS

Confirmatory factor analysis (quantitative design) was used to examine the acceptability of psychometric properties of PLOC-IPE. Data were collected through questionnaires administered at two different time points. The participants consisted of 345 students from Chinese Medicine, Clinical Psychology, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work from a university in Hong Kong.

RESULTS

Based on confirmatory factor analysis, results of within-network construct validity showed good psychometric properties of PLOC-IPE while between-network validity indicated that the scale can predict IPE-related outcomes. Students' intrinsic motivation in IPE positively predicted emotional engagement and negatively predicted emotional disaffection, demonstrating the applicability of the newly validated PLOC-IPE. Amotivation was a negative predictor of emotional engagement and a positive predictor of emotional disaffection.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the acceptability of PLOC when adapted to IPE. PLOC-IPE obtained acceptable psychometric properties as a measure of students' academic motivation in IPE. It is an adapted scale that can be used to understand self-determined motivation in the context of IPE in health and social care education. A guide on how PLOC-IPE can be a means by which researchers can contribute to the advancement of scholarship of IPE was provided.

Developing an interprofessional education programme for a health science faculty in South Africa: A multi-method study

Objective

Work-ready graduates need to be equipped with expertise and therefore, critical changes are required in the curricula for health professions. Here, we aimed to review the design of an interprofessional education programme (IPE) with regards to appropriateness and implementation for the Faculty of Health Sciences at North-West University, South Africa.

Methods

This study employed a sequential multi-method design to develop an IPE programme for a health science faculty in South Africa. A scoping review was conducted to synthesise the structure, development and implementation processes of IPE programmes globally. This was followed by an analysis of IPE programmes from institutions on five continents. Subsequently, the perspectives of international experts on the development and implementation of IPE programmes were explored in a qualitative study. This was followed by a university context analysis and the development of a draft IPE programme was designed based on the data synthesised from all preliminary studies. The programme was presented to faculty to evaluate and provide input by applying a nominal group technique.

Results

For the scoping review, ten steps to the IPE programme development process were developed. For the qualitative document analysis, a step-by-step guide and to-do list were provided to guide educators in conceptualising, developing, implementing and reviewing their IPE programmes. For the qualitative exploratory descriptive design, four themes were identified after the analysis of transcripts. An optional 3-year IPE programme was developed to serve as a precursor for full credit integration of the IPE into the faculty of health science curricula during future development of the health science curricula.

Conclusion

The optional 3-year IPE programme developed will serve as a precursor for the integration of a credit-bearing IPE programme into the Faculty of Health Sciences curricula during future development.

Twelve tips to center social accountability in undergraduate medical education

As the intersections of social identities and health become increasingly evident, the need for medical schools to center their education on social accountability becomes critical. Medical schools have a responsibility to direct their curriculum to ensure graduates become competent physicians in identifying and intervening for their community's needs. These topics have historically been taught in a didactic fashion, but there lacks adequate translation of this teaching style to clinical and community health advocacy. Active learning strategies must be used to engage students to critically think and act on the inter-relationships of social issues and health. We provide 12 recommendations to optimize medical education to effectively immerse students in social accountability through the use of experiential learning within a spiral curriculum. These recommendations are based on reviews of the literature and an environmental scan of curricular activities across Canadian medical schools.

Perceptions and barriers of health-care professionals to develop and implement interprofessional education in UAE: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine the perception, perspectives, and behaviors of health-care providers, as well as cues to action toward interprofessional education (IPE).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The interview sessions were conducted from August 2020 to November 2020 at the College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman. The invited participants belonged to all the colleges which are a part of GMU, providing academic and practice support to the university. All were residents of UAE, and both genders were considered for qualitative assessment. The sample size based on data saturation plus two as standard guidelines in qualitative res earch. All the interviews were audiotaped for verbatim transcriptions. All the recorded interviews were transcribed to avoid bias. The prepared transcripts were then verified for accuracy by the relevant participant and after approval, data were analyzed. In case of an emergent theme, all the investigators were focused on refining the analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 17 health-care professionals (HCPs) were interviewed. The participants were chosen from five different colleges at GMU. All the participants had similar perceptions about IPE, as it is a collaboration between different HCPs to achieve better patient outcomes. A diversity in perspectives toward IPE was found among the participants. Several barriers were identified during the interview session and also highlighted the importance of choosing the right topic for IPE, as it affects planning of the activities greatly. The participants also stressed that the lack of communication also contributes to decreased involvement of HCPs.

CONCLUSION

This study identified inefficient implementation of IPE. The barriers were lack of team effort, lack of communication within the institute, and administrative support, despite the availability of resources and infrastructure in the university.

Medical and pharmacy students' perspectives of remote synchronous interprofessional education sessions

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education (IPE) at university level is an essential component of undergraduate healthcare curricula, as well as being a requirement of many associated regulatory bodies. In this study, the perception of pharmacy and medical students' of remote IPE was evaluated.

METHODS

A series of IPE sessions took place via Zoom and students' feedback was collected after each session. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed.

RESULTS

72% (23/32) of medical students strongly agreed that the sessions had helped to improve their appreciation of the role of pharmacists, whereas 37% (22/59) of pharmacy students strongly agreed, reporting a median response of 'somewhat agreeing', that their appreciation of the role of general practitioners had improved. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.0143). Amongst students who responded, 55% (53/97) identified remote teaching as their preferred mode of delivery for an IPE session.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey demonstrated that the students valued the development of their prescribing skills as well as the ancillary skills gained, such as communication and teamwork. Remote IPE can be a practical means of improving medical and pharmacy students' understanding of each other's professional roles, as well as improving the skills required for prescribing.