Promotion of role clarification in the Health Care Team Challenge

Interprofessional collaboration has consistently been associated with positive client-care outcomes. Role clarification is one facet of interprofessional collaboration that is thought to be crucial for effective interprofessional team functioning. Given the positive outcomes associated with interprofessional collaboration, educators have begun to integrate formal interprofessional education events into healthcare curricula. The Health Care Team Challenge (HCTC) is a collaborative competition designed to promote interprofessional competencies among students in healthcare fields. The current study empirically investigated whether this event promoted role clarification among participants. Sixteen participants in five healthcare professions (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, clinical psychology, nursing, and medicine) completed two questionnaires to assess role clarification before and after participating in this event. Results indicate that participants’ understanding of their own and other professions’ roles improved after participating in this team activity. These results suggest that the HCTC is effective in promoting role clarification and collaboration among healthcare students.     

Bridging understanding in nursing and radiography students: An interprofessional experience

Health professionals must improve interprofessional communication and collaboration to ensure quality patient care. Through socialization, simulation, and case‐based learning, improved collaboration among health professions is possible. Students from two programs, nursing and radiography, were involved in interprofessional activities, including case studies, simulation, and debriefing. The students completed a pre‐ and postsurvey to assess attitudes and knowledge of each profession. Data were analyzed in SPSS using paired t tests. Nursing and radiography students were assessed separately. A 4‐point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) was used to quantify student selections. The nursing students showed increased confidence and knowledge in preparing patients, and deeper understanding of the role and knowledge base of the radiographer. While significant changes in student nurse attitudes and perceptions were noted, no significance was shown pre‐ to postsurvey in the radiography students’ attitudes and perceptions. This may be attributed to an increased level of clinical exposure and experience in the radiography students. The perceptions of the students during debriefing, as well as from the survey data, indicate a heightened awareness of the collaborative nature of health care. Student comments support interprofessional education (IPE) as a method to reach beyond a single professional boundary and increase communication and understanding among healthcare providers. Through this activity, attitudes changed and knowledge of health profession roles increased in novice nursing students. Health professions educators must embrace IPE to encourage interprofessional collaboration for patients navigating the complex healthcare system today and in the future.     

Changing student attitudes through interaction: Findings from an interprofessional workshop

Healthcare professionals are increasingly expected to work in interprofessional teams. Students therefore need opportunities to learn and practise skills that will allow them to be effective team members when they enter the workforce. This article summarises an interprofessional learning experience for 289 undergraduate and graduate students representing 13 programmes in a College of Health Professions (CHP) at a US public university. The half-day workshop provided an opportunity for participants with no prior interprofessional education to collaborate in a problem-solving case study and to inform students of other professions about their professions. Faculty members from all CHP programmes collaborated in writing the case study and facilitating student discussions during the event. Attitudes related to interprofessional collaboration and professional roles were assessed prior to and after workshop participation. A paired t test showed a statistically significant difference in four attitude questions. Participants reported a significant increase in understanding the roles of other professionals in healthcare and community situations. They also reported an increased understanding of the benefits and challenges of working in interprofessional teams. This event successfully introduced participants to interprofessional collaboration and provided them the opportunity to share their professional expertise and understand the expertise of others.     

Perceptions of interprofessionalism in health professional students participating in a novel community service initiative

Interprofessional collaboration is integral to effective patient care in today’s healthcare system. Early exposure to other professions in a hands-on manner during education can be helpful for future practice. However, opportunities for interprofessional education are typically faculty driven and remain limited. Thirty-eight students from different health professions at the University of British Columbia worked collaboratively to promote cardiovascular risk reduction in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Student attitudes toward interprofessionalism were assessed using the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). While 38 participants (55%) completed the survey prior to participation in this initiative, only 21 individuals completed the follow-up survey After participation, there were significant improvements in the competency and autonomy (p = 0.02) and perception of actual cooperation (p = 0.04). Students did not report any difference in their perceived need for cooperation after participation in the initiative. These results suggest that student-led community service initiatives can be an effective method for interprofessional education amongst health professional students.     

Student-run clinics in Canada: an innovative method of delivering interprofessional education

Abstract

The age of siloed healthcare delivery is coming to an end. Research demonstrates that interprofessional collaboration (IPC), the provision of comprehensive services to patients by multiple health providers who collaborate within and across settings, improves the efficiency of the healthcare system, work environments, and patient outcomes. However, developing IPC skills requires training, often referred to as interprofessional education (IPE). This report aims to describe an innovation in IPE: student-run clinics (SRCs). SRCs are organizations composed of students from various disciplines who collaboratively plan and deliver healthcare and health promotion. Recent trends in Canadian SRCs are contrasted with those in the United States. The literature supporting SRCs as a method of delivering IPE, as well as the benefits conferred to patients, students, and communities at large is explored. It is clear that SRCs in Canada are an evolving approach to IPE and are filling a previously undiscovered healthcare niche.     

Interprofessional education and practice guide No. 5: Interprofessional teaching for prequalification students in clinical settings

The importance of interprofessional education in health professions training is increasingly recognised through new accreditation guidelines. Clinician teachers from different professions may find themselves being asked to teach or supervise learners from multiple health professions, focusing on interprofessional dynamics, interprofessional communication, role understanding, and the values and ethics of collaboration. Clinician teachers often feel prepared to teach learners from their own profession but may feel ill prepared to teach learners from other professions. In this guide, we draw upon the collective experience from two countries: an institution from the United States with experience in guiding faculty to teach in a student-run interprofessional clinic and an institution from Canada that offers interprofessional experiences to students in community and hospital settings. This guide offers teaching advice to clinician educators in all health professions who plan to or already teach in an interprofessional clinical setting. We anticipate that clinician teachers can learn to fully engage learners from different professions, precept effectively, recognise common pitfalls, increase their confidence, reflect, and become role models to deliver effective teaching in interprofessional settings.     

Medical student perceptions of an initial collaborative immersion experience

Recent reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) highlight the need for innovative curricula focused on longitudinal clinical learning. We describe the development and early outcomes of the initial clinical experience (ICE), a longitudinal practice-based course for first-year medical students. While IPE courses focus on student-to-student interaction, ICE focuses on introducing students to interprofessional collaboration. Students attend 14 sessions at one of 18 different clinical sites. They work directly with different health professionals from among 17 possible professions, including nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and respiratory, occupational, and physical therapists. Between 2015 and 2016, 167 students completed the course, and 81 completed the end-of-course evaluation. Students agreed or strongly agreed that ICE meaningfully contributed to their understanding of healthcare teams and different professional roles (86%), improved their understanding of healthcare systems (84%), improved their ability to communicate with healthcare professionals (61%), and improved their ability to work on interprofessional teams (65%). Select themes from narrative comments suggest that clinical immersion improves understanding of professional roles, helps students understand their own future roles in healthcare teams, and increases awareness of and respect for other professionals, with the potential to change future practice. ICE may be a template for other schools wishing to expand their current educational offerings, by engaging learners in more authentic, longitudinal clinical experiences with practicing healthcare professionals.     

Using a real-life case scenario to integrate additional health professions students into an existing interprofessional team seminar

The World Health Organization stated that the goal of interprofessional education (IPE) is to prepare students as collaboration-ready members of interprofessional care teams. Educators try to create meaningful and relevant learning experiences for multiple health professions students. A longitudinal Interprofessional Team Seminar (IPTS) course includes over 650 students from seven health professions at the professional training level. Recommendations from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) promote the inclusion of athletic training (AT) students in IPE initiatives. A new IPTS module included AT students focusing on the attributes of rapidly forming and different care teams as the patient transitions from an on-field injury, to acute care, inpatient care, and rehabilitative care, and back to activities of daily living. Qualitative review of reflections from the students assessed the impact of these IPTS modules. The intentional design of this course, focusing on behaviours of collaborative practice and supporting students to be collaboration ready, effectively introduced and highlighted profession-specific strengths and unique contributions to team-based care.     

A comparative study of professional and interprofessional values between health professional associations

Abstract

The need for effective interprofessional collaboration to ensure safe patient care is crucial. However, health professions are guided by separate professional codes of conduct. To examine whether professional codes are consistent across professions, this review examines 13 key health professional associations in the United States and compares their values to the guiding principles of interprofessional practice defined by the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC). Findings indicate that all six of the IPC’s principles (altruism/caring, excellence, ethics, respect, communication, and accountability) were shared by the majority of professions, with many emphasizing two additional attributes, integrity and justice, suggesting there is room to expand the IPC’s core principles. Few associations included interprofessional communication and collaboration in their professional codes. There is potential for associations to promote greater interprofessional collaboration by reshaping their professional frameworks. With many shared values across professions, establishing a common framework of interprofessional professionalism is feasible.     

Nursing and medical students teaming up: Results of an interprofessional project

Health professions programmes are increasing the number of interprofessional events in their curricula. Many of these programmes are grounded in case study or simulation events in order to prepare students for eventual practice. We designed an interprofessional education collaborative practice (IPECP) that provides direct interprofessional practice experience while students are still in their health profession programmes. In our programme, teams of senior baccalaureate nursing and third-year medical students provided health coaching to patients in need of chronic disease management. The purpose of the project and study was to determine whether repeated exposure to opportunities for interprofessional communication would lead to improvement in the individual and team communication skills. Teams met with their assigned patients monthly to provide coaching and had follow-up conversations with the patients between meetings. Faculty were present at each meeting to review the healthcare and coaching plans, observe the teams’ interactions, and provide a debriefing after each meeting. Results demonstrated that both individual and team communication skills significantly increased over time. The IPECP project was successful in providing a context where students could develop and improve upon key interprofessional communication skills.     

Enhancing interprofessional education and practice: Development and implementation of a new graduate-level course using the international classification of functioning,disability, and health

Since the introduction of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), there is increasing awareness among health professionals to consider a biopsychosocial approach to patients’ health and functioning. Although diffusion of the ICF as a concept is widely recognized, application of the ICF within health education and practice requires attention, training, and support. This article describes the development and implementation of a new graduate-level course using the ICF to assist health professionals and graduate trainees in rehabilitation. The innovation behind this course is its focus on application of the ICF in research and practice through a combination of peer support and instructor mentorship. The value of the ICF for interprofessional education, research, and practice includes promotion of a broad perspective to health, application of theory in practice, and enhanced communication and collaboration in healthcare.     

The global emergence of IPE and collaborative care

Abstract

As the United States faces an impending shortage in the primary care workforce, interprofessional teamwork training to improve clinic efficiency and health outcomes is becoming increasingly important. Currently there is limited integration of interprofessional training in educational models for health professionals. The implementation of Patient Aligned Care Teams at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has provided an opportunity for interprofessional collaboration among trainee and faculty providers within the VA system. However, integration of interprofessional education is also necessary to train future providers in order to provide effective team-based care. We describe a transportable educational model for health professional collaboration from our experience as a VA Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education, including a complementary novel one-year post-Master’s adult nurse practitioner interprofessional clinical fellowship. With growing recognition that interprofessional care can improve efficiency and outcomes, there is an increasing need for programs that train future providers in collaboration and team-based care.     

Student views of interprofessional education facilitator competencies: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Research attention has been paid to providing evidence on undergraduate/pre-licensure health sciences students’ interprofessional education competency requirements, placements, and attainment. Although interprofessional facilitator training has been identified as critical to interprofessional learner outcomes, scant research has examined student perceptions of valued facilitator competencies. This short report investigates students’ views of important attributes for interprofessional facilitation using a cross-sectional observation-survey design. A survey was conducted in a pre-licensure sample of n = 343 students (response rate 68%) from four health professions (nursing, midwifery, physical therapy, and occupational therapy). After completing a semester-long interprofessional education course, students completed a survey vis-à-vis rating the importance of interprofessional facilitator competency with regard to 25 abilities, 12 teacher profiles, and 10 characteristics. Taken together, results indicate the need for a multifaceted view of interprofessional facilitator competencies. Our findings will inform training targeted to specific facilitator competencies, as needed for optimizing the delivery of interprofessional education.     

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

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

Reflections from an interprofessional education experience: Evidence for the core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice

The Core Competencies for Collaborative Practice identify the skills needed by every health care provider to be successful in implementing interprofessional practice. Health professions students need to build skills for interprofessional practice as emerging professionals. Reflection is a core skill needed for successful interprofessional practices. This study identifies themes from an interprofessional education research project and discusses their congruency with the Competencies.     

In and out of the curriculum: an historical case study in implementing interprofessional education

Abstract

Although international reports have called for making interprofessional education an integral part of health professions education, most interprofessional learning activities remain voluntary and occur a single time. Barriers to implementing comprehensive interprofessional education come from forces both internal and external to institutions. Understanding the historical context for how one graduate health professions school attempted to overcome these barriers will provide a longitudinal perspective that may assist other institutions with their interprofessional education efforts. The case of the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions shows that, despite being founded with a mission to educate students from different professions together, interprofessional education does not emerge naturally. An analysis of archival documents, academic catalogs and oral history interviews revealed that early attempts focused on requiring students to take common courses. Later, the faculty created voluntary interprofessional learning activities. Neither approach achieved its intended goals until the Institute developed deliberate strategies to counter the internal and external barriers to integrating interprofessional education. This historical case study suggests that sustainable interprofessional education initiatives require both an organizational home and a permanent place in the curriculum.     

One site fits all? A student ward as a learning practice for interprofessional development

Abstract

Interprofessional training wards (IPTWs), aiming to enhance interprofessional collaboration, have been implemented in medical education and evaluated over the last decade. The Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University has, in collaboration with the local health provider, arranged such training wards since 1996, involving students from the medical, nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy programs. Working together across professional boundaries is seen as a necessity in the future to achieve sustainable and safe healthcare. Therefore, educators need to arrange learning contexts which enhance students’ interprofessional learning. This article shows aspects of how the arrangement of an IPTW can influence the students’ collaboration and learning. Data from open-ended questions from a questionnaire survey, during autumn term 2010 and spring term 2011 at an IPTW, was analyzed qualitatively using a theoretical framework of practice theory. The theoretical lens gave a picture of how architectures of the IPTW create a clash between the “expected” professional responsibilities and the “unexpected” responsibilities of caring work. Also revealed was how the proximity between students opens up contexts for negotiations and boundary work. The value of using a theoretical framework of professional learning in practice within the frames of healthcare education is discussed.     

The Dalhousie Health Mentors Program: Introducing students to collaborative patient/client-centered practice

The Dalhousie Health Mentors Program builds on a long history of interprofessional health education initiatives by introducing students in health and social care professions to chronic conditions and disabilities, patient/client-centredness, interprofessional learning, and team functioning. This large interprofessional education program (16 participating programs, 650 students) connects interprofessional student teams with Health Mentors, who are adult volunteers with chronic conditions, for a learning experience that extends over one academic year. Students explore their mentor's life story and chronic condition journey, the impact the condition has had on her/his life, and her/his experience with health care in general and interprofessional collaboration in particular. All aspects of the program planning, management, implementation, and evaluation have been interprofessional in nature. Lessons have been learned regarding     

Evaluation of a student-led interprofessional innovative health promotion model for an underserved population with diabetes: A pilot project

Interprofessional education seeks to encourage different health professions to interact and learn together during their training process which will eventually lead to collaborative healthcare practices and improved care for patients. This study determined whether student understanding of diabetes management and the role of health professionals in diabetes care improved after the implementation of an interprofessional health promotion program. Sixty-three students from five health professions led six educational sessions concentrating on critical components of diabetes management. The longitudinal program covered topics within the Alphabet Strategy (A–G). Students were surveyed to determine their understanding of diabetes management. Data were gathered at the beginning of the study and its conclusion. Forty-seven students completed the program and the pre- and post-survey. There were significant improvements in students' knowledge of diabetes care, understanding of the roles of healthcare professionals and ability to work with other healthcare professionals. Nineteen patients completed the study. There were no significant differences in patients' diabetes knowledge, understanding of diabetes care and clinical outcomes. This study acknowledged the potential value of an interprofessional team approach to care. This innovative model could be applied to other practice settings and used for the management of other chronic diseases.