An interprofessional education session for first-year health science students

Socialisation into interprofessional teams: A mixed-methods study among early health professional learners who engaged in a teams and teamwork module / Sozialisierung in interprofessionellen Teams: Eine Mixed-Methods-Studie zum Effekt eines Team- und Teamwork-Moduls bei Auszubildenden im Gesundheitswesen

Introduction

Early health profession learners hold stereotypes about their own and other professions. Socialising students through interprofessional education (IPE) early in their training facilitates the development of their beliefs and values surrounding their professional and interprofessional identities. This study evaluates the effect of a 3-week, virtual IPE intervention in early health professional learners.

Methods

Students reflected on their functioning as an interprofessional team through discussion and written prompts which were coded by two faculty members for themes and trends. Exposure to developing an interprofessional identity and socialisation within an IPE team were measured through pre- and post-intervention surveys containing the Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale (ISVS).

Results

Students increased their positive attitudes towards IPE from pre- to post-intervention module as well as socialisation and readiness across all ISVS subscales: self-perception of working together, value, and comfort (all p < .001). Students reflected that ‘taking time to get to know each other’ (n = 23 teams; 42%) and ‘allowing everyone to contribute’ (= 17; 31%) were key factors for team development. Individual reflections on what students would work on the next time they worked in an interprofessional team revealed ‘communication’ as important (n = 87; 45%).

Discussion

Health profession students who engaged in the module reflected on how their interprofessional team functioned and identified what helped or hindered them to work as a team. The opportunities to reflect on how their own professional identity within the context of an interprofessional team led to evidence of socialising into an interprofessional team. Students who are challenged to socialise into a team early in their education will better understand their beliefs and values surrounding interprofessional collaboration.

Impact of interprofessional education on the teaching and learning of higher education students: A systematic review

AIM

This systematic review was to explore the potentialities and limitations of Interprofessional Education (IPE), from the perspective of undergraduate students.

BACKGROUND

The increasing complexity in health increasingly demand professionals with the capacity to act in the face of new global challenges. Thus, this pedagogical approach presents itself as one of the most promising choices in facing these new obstacles.

DESIGN

A synthesis of quantitative studies and mixed methods.

METHODS

Studies involving quantitative analyzes were included, with no restriction on the date of publication and language. The search strategy was carried out in the electronic databases: PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Cochrane Library and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). In addition, searches were carried out in gray literature on the ERIC platforms (ProQuest), ProQuest Disserts and Theses Full text and Academic Google. The assessment of the quality of the studies was carried out using the instrument by Downs and Black. The risks of bias in the studies were examined with the aid of the adapted version of the Cochrane Collaboration tool, with the domains of the Downs and Black instrument.

RESULTS

After standardized filter procedures, critical summaries and assessment of relevance to the eligibility criteria, 11 articles were included. The results showed that most students have a positive perception of IPE, with different factors influencing this research finding. The need to develop more robust assessment instruments is highlighted, in view of the insufficiency of tools with sufficient methodological rigor to measure real changes in attitudes among different groups of students.

CONCLUSION

More consistent research is needed, which assesses, in a longitudinal way, the effects that the IPE has on the teaching and learning of undergraduate students and its impact after professional training.

Interprofessional education - a case for Gerodontology training

Increasing life expectancy, concepts of patient well-being, and the multiplicity of needs of the geriatric population, demand contribution, and collaboration of physicians, dentists, psychologists, pharmacists, and other allied health disciplines, to provide quality care to patients. Interprofessional education (IPE) is an approach to education that improves collaboration among health professionals and it can aid in better management of geriatric patients. Communication and cooperation affect health care performance and hence, influence patient outcomes. Currently, each of the disciplines mentioned has customized undergraduate and/or postgraduate training in geriatric care. Though a uni-disciplinary educational approach increases knowledge and skills of individual professions separately, IPE offers significant advantages. IPE seeks to have students learning together, as well as from each other to develop exemplary collaborative practice. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed that IPE will ensure optimum health care. However, IPE is yet to find its proper place in dental education. It would help dental students to develop a positive attitude toward geriatric patients and increase their empathy and efficiency in the management of these patients. This manuscript seeks to highlight the concept of interprofessional education (IPE) in gerodontology and develop recommendations for implementation of IPE in India.

Interprofessional collaborative learning in the workplace: a qualitative study at a non-governmental organisation in Durban, South Africa

BACKGROUND

The rapid progression of diseases and the complex, changing landscape of healthcare has increased the awareness that interprofessional collaboration is essential in ensuring safe and effective healthcare delivery. However, to develop a "collaborative practice-ready" workforce, organisations need to invest in the application of alternative approaches to the training of healthcare professionals.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

To describe the perceptions of healthcare professionals attending an HIV interprofessional collaborative initiative at a non-governmental organization research site in South Africa and to provide suggestions regarding the improvement of this educational programme.

METHODS

Focus group discussions (December 2018 to January 2019), were conducted on a purposeful sample (N = 21) consisting of healthcare professionals (clinicians, pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, and nurses), and clinical trial staff (recruiters, administrators, QC officers, psychologists, counsellors) based at a research site, who were invited to attend a continuing medical education initiative on the pathogenesis and treatment of HIV. Qualitative content analysis was carried out to identify meaning units, which were then condensed and labelled with a code. This was further grouped to form categories.

RESULTS

Five categories emerged: learning something new, acquiring from each other, promoting company culture, needing company buy-in and teaching methods matter. Interprofessional collaborative learning improved technical capacity, work relationships and company culture. The diversity in learning needs of the different professionals requires a structuring of a curriculum to meet the needs of all. The success of this initiative requires company buy-in/investment and recognition from leaders and higher management with regards to time and resources. Suggestions for improvement included: formalizing the training, introducing more lectures and pitching each topic at different levels i.e. basic, intermediate or advanced, thus ensuring maximum benefit for all.

CONCLUSION

Inter-professional learning was perceived as highly valuable. This initiative has the potential to develop further but requires resources and company buy-in. All staff working (clinical and non-clinical) at the NGO site were represented in the interviews, thus ensuring a richer understanding of all perspectives relevant to the study site. The small sample size confined to a single research site, however, prevents these findings from being generalized and limits the applicability of its findings.

Preparing Pharmacists for Collaborative/Integrated Health Settings

Pharmacy practice is changing to accommodate the need for pharmacists to be better team members in newly emerging collaborative care and integrated health systems. Pharmacy schools could lead this change by educating students to be effective participants in these relatively new models of care. Schools are encouraged to follow the approach outlined in the recent guidance published by the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) for interprofessional practice and education (“the new IPE”). This approach includes articulating an IPE plan, establishing goals, assessing student achievement of the necessary IPE competencies, developing educational plans that are multi-faceted and longitudinal, and modifying the existing assessment/evaluation process to ensure the quality of the IPE effort. These curricular decisions should be based on existing and new research on the effectiveness of IPE on student’s attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behavior. A key decision is how to create effective interactions between pharmacy students and those of other professions. Educational emphasis should be directed toward team building skills, not just individual competencies. The pharmacy faculty probably need to enhance their teaching abilities to accommodate this change, such as learning new technology (e.g., simulations, managing online exchanges) and demonstrating a willingness to teach students from other professions.

Designing and Evaluating an Interprofessional Practice Experience Involving Dental and Pharmacy Students

Objective. To prepare pharmacy and dental students to collaborate as members of an interprofessional team by participating in an interprofessional practice experience. Methods. An interprofessional practice experience was implemented within a dental admissions clinic. Pharmacy and dental students collaboratively conducted medical histories and provided tobacco cessation education. Pharmacy student performance was measured using a standardized assessment rubric; pharmacy and dental student perceptions were measured using the SPICE-R tool; and faculty feedback was captured for evaluation purposes. Results. Pharmacy students achieved performance expectations upon completion. There was a statistically significant increase in the mean scores for a majority of the SPICE-R factors for pharmacy and dental students. Overall, faculty perceptions of the practice experience were positive. Conclusion. A collaboration between pharmacy and dental schools is a novel approach to meeting interprofessional and experiential curricular goals. Evaluating performance in practice experiences and perceptions can be used to demonstrate learner outcomes within interprofessional education. Furthermore, faculty feedback should be used to improve practice experiences.

Evaluation of a Unique Interprofessional Education Program Involving Medical and Pharmacy Students

Objective. To measure changes in interprofessional competencies among pharmacy and medical students following a half-day event focusing on interprofessional learning. Methods. There were 118 pharmacy students and 28 medical students who participated in the Healthcare Interprofessional Education Day (HIPED) which consisted of three stations (communication, patient interviewing, and prescribing) in which pharmacy and medical students had to work collaboratively. The standardized Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Results. There were 133 surveys completed for a response rate of 91%. All 20 items measured by the ICCAS showed a significant improvement. The strongest effect sizes were in the collaboration, roles & responsibilities, and collaborative practice/family-centered approach categories. The least robust effects were in the conflict management/resolution category. Conclusion. The HIPED activity was an effective IPE experience. The strong and consistent improvement in all ICCAS scores suggest a framework for pharmacy and medical school training to move from siloed educational experiences to synergistic learning opportunities.

A team-based interprofessional education course for first-year health professions students

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interprofessional education (IPE) is required within pharmacy education, and should include classroom-based education along with experiential interprofessional collaboration. For classroom-based education, small-group learning environments may create a better platform for engaging students in the essential domain of interprofessional collaboration towards meaningful learning within IPE sub-domains (interprofessional communication, teams and teamwork, roles and responsibilities, and values and ethics). Faculty envisioned creating a small-group learning environment that was inviting, interactive, and flexible using situated learning theory. This report describes an introductory, team-based, IPE course for first-year health-professions students; it used small-group methods for health-professions students' learning of interprofessional collaboration.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

The University of Toledo implemented a 14-week required course involving 554 first-year health-sciences students from eight professions. The course focused on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative's (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaboration. Students were placed within interprofessional teams of 11-12 students each and engaged in simulations, standardized-patient interviews, case-based communications exercises, vital signs training, and patient safety rotations. Outcomes measured were students' self-ratings of attaining learning objectives, perceptions of other professions (from word cloud), and satisfaction through end-of-course evaluations.

FINDINGS

This introductory, team-based IPE course with 554 students improved students' self-assessed competency in learning objectives (p < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.9), changed students' perceptions of other professions (via word clouds), and met students' satisfaction through course evaluations.

DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY

Through triangulation of our various assessment methods, we considered this course offering a success. This interprofessional, team-based, small-group strategy to teaching and learning IPE appeared helpful within this interactive, classroom-based course.

A comparative study of interprofessional education in global health care: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners identify interprofessional (IP) collaboration in education and practice as an innovative strategy that plays an important role in mitigating the global health workforce crisis. Evidence on the practice of global health level in interprofessional education (IPE) is scarce and hampered due to the absence of aggregate information. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to examine the incidences of IPE and summarize the main features about the IPE programs in undergraduate and postgraduate education in developed and developing countries.

METHODS

The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from their inception to January 31, 2016 for relevant studies regarding the development of IPE worldwide, IPE undergraduate and postgraduate programs, IP interaction in health education, IPE content, clinical placements, and teaching methods. Countries in which a study was conducted were classified as developed and developing countries according to the definition by the United Nations (UN) in 2014.

RESULTS

A total of 65 studies from 41 countries met our inclusion criteria, including 45 studies from 25 developed countries and 20 studies from 16 developing countries. Compared with developing countries, developed countries had more IPE initiatives. IPE programs were mostly at the undergraduate level. Overall, the university was the most common academic institution that provided IPE programs. The contents of the curricula were mainly designed to provide IP knowledge, skills, and values that aimed at developing IP competencies. IPE clinical placements were typically based in hospitals, community settings, or both. The didactic and interactive teaching methods varied significantly within and across universities where they conducted IPE programs. Among all health care disciplines, nursing was the discipline that conducted most of the IPE programs.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review illustrated that the IPE programs vary substantially across countries. Many countries, especially the academic institutions are benefiting from the implementation of IPE programs. There is a need to strengthen health education policies at global level aiming at initiating IPE programs in relevant institutions.

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

BACKGROUND

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

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

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

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

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

Using complexity theory to develop a student-directed interprofessional learning activity for 1220 healthcare students

BACKGROUND

More and better interprofessional practice is predicated to be necessary to deliver good care to the patients of the future. However, universities struggle to create authentic learning activities that enable students to experience the dynamic interprofessional interactions common in healthcare and that can accommodate large interprofessional student cohorts. We investigated a large-scale mandatory interprofessional learning (IPL) activity for health professional students designed to promote social learning.

METHODS

A mixed methods research approach determined feasibility, acceptability and the extent to which student IPL outcomes were met. We developed an IPL activity founded in complexity theory to prepare students for future practice by engaging them in a self-directed (self-organised) learning activity with a diverse team, whose assessable products would be emergent creations. Complicated but authentic clinical cases (n = 12) were developed to challenge student teams (n = 5 or 6). Assessment consisted of a written management plan (academically marked) and a five-minute video (peer marked) designed to assess creative collaboration as well as provide evidence of integrated collective knowledge; the cohesive patient-centred management plan.

RESULTS

All students (including the disciplines of diagnostic radiology, exercise physiology, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy and speech pathology), completed all tasks successfully. Of the 26 % of students who completed the evaluation survey, 70 % agreed or strongly agreed that the IPL activity was worthwhile, and 87 % agreed or strongly agreed that their case study was relevant. Thematic analysis found overarching themes of engagement and collaboration-in-action suggesting that the IPL activity enabled students to achieve the intended learning objectives. Students recognised the contribution of others and described negotiation, collaboration and creation of new collective knowledge after working together on the complicated patient case studies. The novel video assessment was challenging to many students and contextual issues limited engagement for some disciplines.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a large scale IPL activity where design of cases, format and assessment tasks was founded in complexity theory. This theoretically based design enabled students to achieve complex IPL outcomes relevant to future practice. Future research could establish the psychometric properties of assessments of student performance in large-scale IPL events.

Interprofessional podiatric surgical simulation a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional collaboration is key to quality outcomes in the health-care systems of today. Simulation is a common tool in podiatric medical education, and interprofessional education has become more common in podiatric medicine programs. Interprofessional simulation is the blending of these educational strategies.

METHODS

A quantitative design was used to determine the impact of an isolated interprofessional podiatric surgical simulation between nurse anesthesia and podiatric medical students.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were observed among participants between preintervention and postintervention surveys using the revised Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale.

CONCLUSIONS

Interprofessional simulation can be an effective educational opportunity for podiatric medical and nurse anesthesia students.

A novel pain interprofessional education strategy for trainees: assessing impact on interprofessional competencies and pediatric pain knowledge

BACKGROUND

Health care trainees⁄students lack knowledge and skills for the comprehensive clinical assessment and management of pain. Moreover, most teaching has been limited to classroom settings within each profession.

OBJECTIVES

To develop and evaluate the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the 'Pain-Interprofessional Education (IPE) Placement', a five-week pain IPE implemented in the clinical setting. The utility (content validity, readability, internal consistency and practical considerations) of the outcome measures was also evaluated.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 21 trainees from eight professions was recruited over three Pain-IPE Placement cycles. Pre- and postcurriculum assessment included: pain knowledge (Pediatric Pain Knowledge and Attitudes Survey), IPE attitudes (Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale [IEPS]) and IPE competencies (Interprofessional Care Core Competencies Global Rating Scales [IPC-GRS]), and qualitative feedback on process⁄acceptability.

RESULTS

Recruitment and retention met expectations. Qualitative feedback was excellent. IPE measures (IEPS and IPC-GRS) exhibited satisfactory utility. Postcurriculum scores improved significantly: IEPS, P<0.05; IPC-GRS constructs, P<0.01; and competencies, P<0.001. However, the Pediatric Pain Knowledge and Attitudes Survey exhibited poor utility in professions without formal pharmacology training. Scores improved in the remaining professions (n=14; P<0.01).

DISCUSSION

There was significant improvement in educational outcomes. The IEPS and IPC-GRS are useful measures of IPE-related learning. At more advanced training levels, a single pain-knowledge questionnaire may not accurately reflect learning across diverse professions.

CONCLUSION

The Pain-IPE Placement is a successful collaborative learning model within a clinical context that successfully changed interprofessional competencies. The present study represents a first step at defining and assessing change in interprofessional competencies gained from Pain-IPE.

Interprofessional education for whom? --challenges and lessons learned from its implementation in developed countries and their application to developing countries: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Evidence is available on the potential efficacy of interprofessional education (IPE) to foster interprofessional cooperation, improve professional satisfaction, and improve patient care. While the intention of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to implement IPE in all countries, evidence comes from developed countries about its efficiency, challenges, and barriers to planning and implementing IPE. We therefore conducted this review to examine challenges of implementing IPE to suggest possible pathways to overcome the anticipated challenges in developing countries.

METHODS

We searched for literatures on IPE in PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases. We examined challenges or barriers and initiatives to overcome them so as to suggest methods to solve the anticipated challenges in developing countries. We could not conduct a meta-analysis because of the qualitative nature of the research question and the data; instead we conducted a meta-narrative of evidence.

RESULTS

A total of 40 out of 2,146 articles were eligible for analyses in the current review. Only two articles were available from developing countries. Despite the known benefits of IPE, a total of ten challenges or barriers were common based on the retrieved evidence. They included curriculum, leadership, resources, stereotypes and attitudes, variety of students, IPE concept, teaching, enthusiasm, professional jargons, and accreditation. Out of ten, three had already been reported in developing countries: IPE curriculum, resource limitations, and stereotypes.

CONCLUSION

This study found ten important challenges on implementing IPE. They are curriculum, leadership, resources, stereotypes, students' diversity, IPE concept, teaching, enthusiasm, professional jargons, and accreditation. Although only three of them are already experienced in developing countries, the remaining seven are potentially important for developing countries, too. By knowing these challenges and barriers in advance, those who implement IPE programs in developing countries will be much more prepared, and can enhance the program's potential success.

Multiple interprofessional education activities delivered longitudinally within a required clinical assessment course

OBJECTIVE

To determine if the incorporation of multiple interprofessional educational (IPE) activities delivered as a longitudinal curriculum within a required clinical assessment course changed pharmacy students' perceptions regarding interprofessional collaboration.

DESIGN

Seventy-one third-year pharmacy students participated in Clinical Assessment, a required applications-based course with a laboratory component. Nine separate IPE activities were embedded into the course longitudinally over the semester using various active-learning strategies and simulated patients. The IPE activities required student participation from medical, nursing, and physician assistant students.

ASSESSMENT

Pharmacy students completed an 18-item validated survey instrument, the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), on the first (pre-survey) and last (post-survey) day of the course. After completing the course, scores improved on 16 of 18 survey items that measured pharmacy students' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Incorporating multiple IPE activities longitudinally into a required clinical assessment course significantly changed pharmacy students' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration.

Impact of participation on a solid organ transplant team on student pharmacists' perceptions of interprofessional roles

OBJECTIVE

To examine student pharmacists' perceptions of interprofessional roles before and after completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience on solid organ transplantation.

METHODS

Student pharmacists across the United States participating in an APPE on a solid organ transplant team completed an online pre- and post-APPE survey instrument examining perceptions of interprofessional roles, communication, and teamwork.

RESULTS

Student pharmacists' scores on interprofessionalism increased significantly on 17 of 22 items. Positive changes were seen in the interprofessional education core competency areas of roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork.

CONCLUSION

Student pharmacist participation in interprofessional clinical APPEs can positively influence their professional development as they prepare to become members of multi-disciplinary teams in the healthcare workforce.

The longitudinal elderly person shadowing program: outcomes from an interprofessional senior partner mentoring program

The University of Saskatchewan's Longitudinal Elderly Person Shadowing (LEPS) is an interprofessional senior mentors program (SMP) where teams of undergraduate students in their first year of medicine, pharmacy, and physiotherapy; 2nd year of nutrition; 3rd year nursing; and 4th year social work partner with community-dwelling older adults. Existing literature on SMPs provides little information on the sustainability of attitudinal changes toward older adults or changes in interprofessional attitudes. LEPS students completed Polizzi's Aging Semantic Differential and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale. Perceptions of older men and women improved significantly and changes were sustained after one year. However, few changes were seen in interprofessional attitudes.

Assessing Student Attitudes as a Result of Participating in an Interprofessional Healthcare Elective Associated with a Student-Run Free Clinic

BACKGROUND: An interprofessional elective using a student-run clinic can introduce students to professional roles, collaborative patient care, and health disparities. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Students from four professions (pharmacy, medicine, physician assistant, and physical therapy) participated in a service-learning elective where they received weekly didactic lectures and provided healthcare in a student-run free clinic. Additional interprofessional activities included a quality improvement project and a case presentation. Students were administered anonymous surveys before and after the elective to assess changes in their attitudes toward interprofessional teamwork. A total of 93 and 74 students completed the pre-survey and post-survey, respectively. After participating in the elective, significantly more students reported working in interprofessional teams and understood the role of physician assistants. The majority of other attitudes about interprofessional collaboration and professional roles were sustained or improved after the elective. CONCLUSION: An interprofessional service-learning elective using didactic and experiential learning in an interprofessional, student-run free clinic sustained or improved student attitudes toward interprofessional teamwork. The elective had a significant impact on increased student experience working in interprofessional healthcare teams and increased understanding of health professions' roles. Continued assessment of the impact on student behaviours and patient outcomes is warranted.