Shared goals, shared learning: evaluation of a multiprofessional course for undergraduate students

The Conceptual Analysis of Collaboration in the Occupational Therapy by Combining the Scoping Review Methodology

BACKGROUND

Collaboration is an important concept in goal-setting in occupational therapy. However, this concept is not stable due to various definitions. The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of collaboration in occupational therapy.

METHOD

A scoping review was used to search for all articles related to occupational therapy and collaboration. PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and OT Seeker searches were conducted using predetermined keywords. Three examiners independently reviewed and assessed the quality of each study using Walker and Avant's concept analysis method.

RESULTS

Results of the database searches yielded 1873 studies, 585 of which were deemed eligible to include in this review. Results showed five attributes ("active participation for the common objective", "existence of something to share", "matured communication and interaction", "relationship founded on the respect and trust" and "complementing each other") and two antecedents and several consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings may contribute to collaborative goal-setting and occupational therapy.

Interprofessional learning in a student-run dental clinic: The effect on attitudes of students in oral healthcare

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into change in attitudes held by students in oral healthcare about interprofessional learning and collaboration after one year of work in a student-run dental clinic (SRDC). Third- and fourth-year bachelor of dental hygiene students (n = 221) and first- and second-year master of dentistry students (n = 203) participated in baseline and follow-up measurements and completed 570 questionnaires. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was used to measure changes in attitudes toward Interprofessional Education (IPE) during participation in the SRDC. To validate the questionnaire for the setting, professional groups, and wording of RIPLS, we performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Two modified subscales remained: "Teamwork & Collaboration" and "Negative Professional Identity." Mixed linear models were used to assess relationships between students' attitudes toward IPE and participation in the SRDC. Overall, the students had positive attitudes toward IPE. At baseline, the attitudes of the dental hygiene and dentistry students were almost equally positive. After one year, dental hygiene students demonstrated a significantly more positive attitude toward collaborative learning and teamwork than the dentistry students. Further research should investigate whether the positive attitudes impact behavior in professional practice.

Italian Translation and Validation of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) in an Undergraduate Healthcare Student Context

Interprofessional education requires that two or more professionals learn from and with each other to allow effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Thus far, the interprofessional collaboration of healthcare students might be assessed using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), which is currently not available in its Italian version. This study aimed to provide the intercultural adaptation of the RIPLS in Italian (I-RIPLS) and assess its validity and reliability. A two-phase validation study was performed in 2020, using a single-centre approach in students enrolled in the medical degree, physiotherapy, nursing, and dentistry courses at an Italian-speaking university in Albania. The first phase of the study determined the cross-cultural adaptation of the items by involving two translators who followed a forward and backward translation process. In the second phase, a sample of 414 students was enrolled. The preliminary corrected item-total correlations showed that five items did not show significant item-to-total correlations. Even if their deletion was not mandatory for generating a suitable correlation matrix for factor analysis, the advantages of keeping only items contributing to a more stable measurement with a shorter scale represented the rationale for removing items with non-significant item-to-total correlation from the correlation matrix before testing the dimensionality of the I-RIPLS with factor analysis. The answers from the first 50% of responders (n = 207) were used to determine the most plausible dimensionality of the I-RIPLS by employing an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the second 50% were used to cross-validate the most plausible dimensionality derived from EFA by employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models. The most plausible dimensionality from EFA, by acknowledging the interpretation of the scree plot, the eigenvalues greater than 1, a parallel analysis, and the previous theoretical dimensions of the tool had two factors with adequate internal consistency. The CFA confirmed the two-factor solutions and the internal consistency for each domain. The I-RIPLS has 14 items with adequate evidence of validity and reliability. Future research should revise the tool for pursuing cross-cultural multigroup measurement invariance.

Training in Interprofessional Learning and Collaboration: An Evaluation of the Interprofessional Education Program in the Scale-up Phase in Antwerp (Belgium)

Background

Curricula are reviewed and adapted in response to a perceived need to improve interprofessional collaboration for the benefit of patient care. In 2005, the module Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare (IPCIHC) was developed by the Antwerp University Association (AUHA). The program was based upon a concept of five steps to IPCIHC. This educational module aims to help graduates obtain the competence of interprofessional collaborators in health care.

Methods

Over a span of 15 years, the IPCIHC module is evaluated annually by students and provided with feedback by the tutors and steering committee. Data up to 2014 were supplemented with data up to 2019. For the students the same evaluative one-group, post-test design was used to gather data using a structured questionnaire. The tutors’ and students’ feedback was thematically analyzed.

Results

Based upon the results and the contextual changing needs, the program was adjusted. Between 2005 and 2019, a total of 8616 evaluations were received (response rate: 78%). Eighty percent of the respondents indicated through the evaluations that they were convinced of the positive effect of the IPCIHC module on their interprofessional development. Over the years, two more disciplines enrolled into this program and also education programs form the Netherlands.

Conclusions

After 15 years, positive outcomes are showed, and future health professionals have a better understanding of interprofessional learning. Gathering feedback and annually evaluation helped to provide a targeted interprofessional program addressing contextual changes. The challenge remains to keep on educating future healthcare providers in interprofessional collaboration in order to achieve an increase in observable interprofessional behaviour towards other professional groups.

Personal values among first-year medical and nursing students: A cross-sectional comparative study

BACKGROUND

Collaboration in healthcare is essential but differences in personal values can be a potential source of disagreements between physicians and nurses.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to verify if and to what extent there were divergences in the personal values profile between medical and nursing students at the beginning of their education and training. A second aim was to explore gender differences in personal values.

DESIGN

This is an observational cross-sectional study.

SETTINGS

This study was conducted at one University in northern Italy.

PARTICIPANTS

We compared the personal values of 393 first-year medical students with those of 403 first-year nursing students.

METHODS

The Portrait Values Questionnaire-40 was administered and analyses of variance were performed to assess degree group and gender differences in terms of personal values.

RESULTS

Medical students scored significantly higher than nursing ones on values related to dominance over others and personal success. Female students significantly outscored males on personal values that reflect other-oriented and social focus, whereas male students obtained higher scores than females on personal values related to personal and selfish orientation.

CONCLUSIONS

Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values may be a valuable theoretical framework for interprofessional education to promote a common reflection on personal values held by medical and nursing students since the early years of study.

Longitudinal outcomes of a brief interprofessional educational experience with or without an interprofessional education course

Best practices for delivering interprofessional education (IPE) continue to be debated. The objective of this study was to compare the longitudinal effects of two different methods of delivering IPE: a one-day IPE symposium (Symposium Only) vs. a one-day symposium plus a semester-long IPE course (Symposium + IPE). 40 Health Services Administration (HSA) and 57 Occupational Therapy (OT) students participated in this study. Participant attitudes in the Symposium Only group were compared to participant attitudes in the Symposium + IPE group using the Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS). Participants completed the survey prior to the symposium (Time 1), immediately after the symposium (Time 2), and at least 18 months after the symposium (Time 3). A series of one-way repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that students in either the Symposium Only or Symposium +IPE group showed significantly better attitudes toward interprofessional teamwork at Time 2, and that these attitudes were maintained at Time 3. This was true for total ATHCTS, the Physician Centrality subscale, and Quality of Care/Process subscale. While the addition of the semester-long IPE course negatively impacted attitudes toward interprofessional teamwork in the short-term (at Time 2), it had no negative long-term impact at Time 3. Long-term, it appears that adding a semester-long course to a one-day symposium had no impact on attitude toward interprofessional teamwork.

Acceptance of interprofessional learning between medical and pharmacy students in a prescribing skills training workshop: pre-post intervention study

BACKGROUND

The success of interprofessional collaboration in healthcare services requires a paradigm shift in the training of future health profession practitioners. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure Student Acceptance of Interprofessional Learning (SAIL) in Malaysia, and to assess this attribute among medical and pharmacy students using a prescribing skills training workshop.

METHODS

The study consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, a 10-item instrument (SAIL-10) was developed and tested on a cohort of medical and pharmacy students who attended the workshop. In Phase 2, different cohorts of medical and pharmacy students completed SAIL-10 before and after participating in the workshop.

RESULTS

Factor analysis showed that SAIL-10 has two domains: "facilitators of interprofessional learning" and "acceptance to learning in groups". The overall SAIL-10 and the two domains have adequate internal consistency and stable reliability. The total score and scores for the two domains were significantly higher after students attended the prescribing skills workshop.

CONCLUSIONS

This study produced a valid and reliable instrument, SAIL-10 which was used to demonstrate that the prescribing skills workshop, where medical and pharmacy students were placed in an authentic context, was a promising activity to promote interprofessional learning among future healthcare professionals.

The contribution of theory to the design, delivery, and evaluation of interprofessional curricula: BEME Guide No. 49

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional curricula have often lacked explicit reference to theory despite calls for a more theoretically informed field that illuminates curricular assumptions and justifies curricular practices.

AIM

To review the contributions of theory to the design, delivery, and evaluation of interprofessional curricula.

METHODS

Four databases were searched (1988-2015). Studies demonstrating explicit and a high-quality contribution of theory to the design, delivery or evaluation of interprofessional curricula were included. Data were extracted against a comprehensive framework of curricular activities and a narrative synthesis undertaken.

RESULTS

Ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies (86%) originated from the UK, USA, and Canada. Theories most commonly underpinned "learning activities" (47%) and "evaluation" (54%). Theories of reflective learning, identity formation, and contact hypothesis dominated the field though there are many examples of innovative theoretical contributions.

CONCLUSIONS

Theories contribute considerably to the interprofessional field, though many curricular elements remain under-theorized. The literature offers no "gold standard" theory for interprofessional curricula; rather theoretical selection is contingent upon the curricular component to which theory is to be applied. Theories contributed to interprofessional curricula by explaining, predicting, organizing or illuminating social processes embedded in interprofessional curricular assumptions. This review provides guidance how theory might be robustly and appropriately deployed in the design, delivery, and evaluation of interprofessional curricula.

Psychiatric training revisited – better, worse or the same?

AIMS AND METHOD

To evaluate psychiatric training in one deanery following a programme of site visits, interviews with trainers and trainees, reports, and recommendations. To assess the findings in the context of NHS training requirements. Information was collected by semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys.

RESULTS

Forty-three sites were visited, training is generally of a high standard and most trainees are satisfied with their posts. There are significant problems in delivering sufficient community experience to general practice trainees and deficits in availability of multi-professional training programmes.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

College tutors should work to ensure that trainees have access to shared learning occasions with non-medical health professionals to meet the NHS training agenda.

Interprofessional education in mental health services: learning together for better team working

Interprofessional education, learning which brings together different professional groups, helps to prepare practitioners for effective team-based collaborative practice and is now included in all undergraduate training programmes in the health professions. We explore the merits of team-based interprofessional learning, drawing on learning theory and mental health policy. We endorse the use of a practice-based interprofessional education model involving patients in which students experience the complexity of team working and the clinical team gain a more detailed analysis of team processes, which can enhance the quality of patient care. The model has been replicated for undergraduate education in mental healthcare and could easily be used for postgraduate staff. Interprofessional education at postgraduate level could foster the ongoing team-based reflective learning needed to enable mental health services in the UK to adapt to the dramatic changes both in their organisation and in the roles and responsibilities of individual professions.

Health science students' attitudes towards healthcare teams: A comparison between two universities

There have been few studies comparing the attitudes towards healthcare teams between different universities. This study analysed the differences in attitudes towards healthcare teams between health science students at Gunma University, Japan, which implements a comprehensive interprofessional education (IPE) programme, and Kanazawa University, a similar national university. Study populations were first- and third-year students at the Gunma University School of Health Sciences and the Kanazawa University School of Health Sciences. The present study was performed just after the IPE and multi-professional education subjects at Gunma University in the first term of the 2012 academic year. The first-year students were different cohort from the third-year students. The modified Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS) was used to measure attitudes towards healthcare teams. The overall mean score on the modified ATHCTS of students at Gunma University was significantly higher than that of those at Kanazawa University. In both first- and third-year students, the regression factor score of "patient-centred care" was significantly higher at Gunma University than at Kanazawa University. Based on the present study, it can be stated that IPE may foster the value of collaborative practice (CP) among health science students.

Student-led leadership training for undergraduate healthcare students

Purpose Effective clinical leadership is crucial to avoid failings in the delivery of safe health care, particularly during a period of increasing scrutiny and cost-constraints for the National Health Service (NHS). However, there is a paucity of leadership training for health-care students, the future leaders of the NHS, which is due in part to overfilled curricula. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of student-led leadership training for the benefit of fellow students. Design/methodology/approach To address this training gap, a group of multiprofessional students organised a series of large-group seminars and small-group workshops given by notable health-care leaders at a London university over the course of two consecutive years. Findings The majority of students had not previously received any formal exposure to leadership training. Feedback post-events were almost universally positive, though students expressed a preference for experiential teaching of leadership. Working with university faculty, an inaugural essay prize was founded and student members were given the opportunity to complete internships in real-life quality improvement projects. Originality/value Student-led teaching interventions in leadership can help to fill an unmet teaching need and help to better equip the next generation of health-care workers for future roles as leaders within the NHS.

A Consensus Approach to Investigate Undergraduate Pharmacy Students' Experience of Interprofessional Education

Objective. To assess the development of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for collaborative practice among first-year pharmacy students following completion of interprofessional education. Methods. A mixed-methods strategy was employed to detect student self-reported change in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Validated survey tools were used to assess student perception and attitudes. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to capture student reflections and provide peer discussion on the individual IPE sessions. Results. The validated survey tools did not detect any change in students' attitudes and perceptions. The NGT succeeded in providing a milieu for participating students to reflect on their IPE experiences. The peer review process allowed students to compare their initial perceptions and reactions and renew their reflections on the learning experience. Conclusion. The NGT process has provided the opportunity to assess the student experience through the reflective process that was enriched via peer discussion. Students have demonstrated more positive attitudes and behaviors toward interprofessional working through IPE.

Transdisciplinary education: Tensions and contradictions?

While moves towards transdisciplinary education programmes for health and social care professionals are undoubtedly in evidence, the explicit objectives are often unclear and, in numerous studies, unstated. There are numerous interpretations of what a successful outcome in respect of closer collaboration between health and social care professionals actually means, and there also appears to be a prevailing idea that it is common sense that if students learn together they will be better prepared to work together. Whether it is helpful to put so much emphasis upon common studies is another matter. The danger lies in detracting from the distinctive contribution that each profession makes to service delivery. It is a strongly held belief in interprofessional education that comparative studies add value, by which it is meant that opportunities to learn from, about, and with each other, pave the way for collaboration in practice. Evidence is needed of the benefits of interactive learning so as to withstand arguments from employers that common studies are sufficient to facilitate flexible deployment of the workforce and from educational institutions who wish to use them to economise on scarce resources. What are required are longitudinal studies which focus on the possible relationships between education input and enhancement of quality care provision and an over-arching strategic vision to sustain developments in the long term.

Crucial Conversations: An interprofessional learning opportunity for senior healthcare students

Clinical errors due to human mistakes are estimated to result in 400,000 preventable deaths per year. Strategies to improve patient safety often rely on healthcare workers' ability to speak up with concerns. This becomes difficult during critical decision-making as a result of conflicting opinions and power differentials, themes underrepresented in many interprofessional initiatives. These elements are prominent in our interprofessional initiative, namely Crucial Conversations. We sought to evaluate this initiative as an interprofessional learning (IPL) opportunity for pre-licensure senior healthcare students, as a way to foster interprofessional collaboration, and as a method of empowering students to vocalise their concerns. The attributes of this IPL opportunity were evaluated using the Points for Interprofessional Education Score (PIPES). The University of the West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire was administered before and after the course to assess changes in attitudes towards IPL, relationships, interactions, and teamwork. Crucial Conversations strongly attained the principles of interprofessional education on the PIPES instrument. A total of 38 volunteers completed the 16 hours of training: 15 (39%) medical rehabilitation, 10 (26%) medicine, 7 (18%) pharmacy, 5 (13%) nursing, and 1 (2%) dentistry. Baseline attitude scores were positive for three of the four subscales, all of which improved post-intervention. Interprofessional interactions remained negative possibly due to the lack of IPL opportunities along the learning continuum, the hidden curriculum, as well as the stereotyping and hierarchical structures in today's healthcare environment preventing students from maximising the techniques learned by use of this interprofessional initiative.

Participant evaluation of an education module on interprofessional collaboration for students in healthcare studies

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional collaboration is considered a key-factor to deliver the highest quality of care. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) assumes a model of working together, in particular with awareness of the process of interprofessional collaboration, to develop an integrated and cohesive answer to the needs of the client/family/population. Educational modules are developed in response to a perceived need to improve interprofessional collaboration for the benefit of patientcare. Up until 2005 no explicit module on interprofessional collaboration existed in the education programs of the Antwerp University Association (AUHA). During a decade the 'Interprofessional Collaboration In Healthcare (IPCIHC) - module' is organised and evaluated by its participants.

METHODS

One group, post-test design was used to gather data from the participating students using a structured questionnaire. Data was collected between March 2005 and March 2014 from participating final year students in healthcare educational programs.

RESULTS

3568 (84 % overall response) students evaluated the IPCIHC module from 2005 up to 2014. Over 80 % of the participants were convinced the IPCIHC increased their knowledge and changed their understanding that it will impact their future professional relationships, and felt a greater understanding about problem-solving in healthcare teams. Even though the results indicate that the goals of the IPCIHC module were achieved, less than 60 % of the participants experienced a change in attitude towards other professional groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the positive outcomes from the participants, the challenge still remains to keep on educating future healthcare providers in interprofessional collaboration in order to achieve an increase in interprofessional behaviour towards other professional groups. Research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of undergraduate programs on the quality and safety of patientcare in practice.

Dual Benefits of a Student-Assisted Interprofessional Men's Healthy Lifestyle Pilot Program

Men are less willing to seek health professional advice than women and die more often than women from preventable causes. Therefore, it is important to increase male engagement with health initiatives. This study reports the outcomes of a student-assisted, interprofessional, 12-week health program for overweight adult males. The program included weekly health education and structured, supervised group exercise sessions. Thirteen males (participants) and 18 university students (session facilitators) completed the program. Participants were assessed for a range of health and physical activity measures and health and health profession knowledge. Participants demonstrated significant improvement in activity, knowledge, and perceptions of physical and mental function, and appreciated the guided, group sessions. Students completed an interprofessional readiness questionnaire and reported significant improvement in the understanding of the benefits of interprofessional education and of their role in health care. This program provides evidence of the dual benefit that occurs from the delivery of a student-assisted, interprofessional men's health program to at-risk community members.

Evaluation of interprofessional training in home care

The increasing number of patients in home care and the importance of teamwork make it important to provide successful ways of interprofessional learning for students. The aim of this study was to evaluate a group of undergraduate students' experiences of a one-day interprofessional home care training in a realistic setting. A study group comprised of 88 students and a control group with 182 students answered the questionnaire. In the study group the students practised interprofessional learning for a fictitious case in a real flat. The clinical education was performed in five steps. A group of local instructors supported the students during the day. The result showed that compared to the students in the control group the students in the study group had received a higher level of understanding or satisfaction in all comparable questions. The training day seemed to be especially important for the physiotherapy students. The students also gave feedback which can be used for future improvements.The arranged one-day home care training seemed to be a successful platform for interprofessional learning in primary health care. Nonetheless, certain logistics problems and the participation of medical students are two areas where improvement is necessary.

Perception of interprofessional conflicts and interprofessional education by doctors and nurses

PURPOSE

This study aimed to collect information that is needed to develop interprofessional education curricula by examining the current status of interprofessional conflicts and the demand for interprofessional education.

METHODS

A total of 95 doctors and 92 nurses in three university hospitals in Seoul responded to a survey that comprised questions on past experience with interprofessional conflicts, the causes and solutions of such conflicts, past experience with interprofessional education, and the demand for interprofessional education.

RESULTS

We found that 86% of doctors and 62.6% of nurses had no interprofessional education experience. Most of them learned about the work of other health professions naturally through work experience, and many had experienced at least one interprofessional conflict. For doctors, the most popular method of resolving interprofessional conflicts was to let the event pass; for nurses, it was to inform the department head. Further, 41.5% of doctors and 56.7% of nurses expressed no knowledge of an official system for resolving interprofessional conflicts within the hospital, and 62.8% of doctors and 78.3% of nurses stated that they would participate in interprofessional education if the opportunity arose.

CONCLUSION

In Korean hospital organizations, many doctors and nurses have experienced conflicts with other health professionals. By developing an appropriate curriculum and educational training system, the opportunities for health professionals to receive interprofessional education should expand.

Improvement of quality and safety in health care as a new interprofessional learning module - evaluation from students

Background

Interprofessional teamwork is in many ways a norm in modern health care, and needs to be taught during professional education.

Description

This study is an evaluation of a newly introduced and mandatory learning module where students from different health profession programs used Improvement of Quality and Safety as a way to develop interprofessional competence in a real-life setting. The intention of this learning module was to integrate interprofessional teamwork within the students’ basic education, and to give students a basic knowledge about Improvement of Quality and Safety. This report focuses on evaluations from the participating students (n=222), mainly medical and nursing students.

Materials and methods

To evaluate this new learning module, a questionnaire was developed and analyzed using a mixed methods design, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods. The evaluation addressed learning concepts, learning objectives, and interprofessional and professional development.

Results and conclusion

A majority of students responded positively to the learning module as a whole, but many were negative towards specific parts of the learning module and its implementation. Medical students and male students were less positive towards this learning module. Improvements and alterations were suggested.

Interprofessional Education (IPE) Activity amongst Health Sciences Students at Sultan Qaboos University: The time is now!

Historically, health professionals have been educated in profession-specific institutions which provide limited opportunities for learning interprofessional (IP) skills. Many qualified practitioners are therefore poorly prepared for the challenges of IP practice (IPP). Patients today have complex needs and typically require more than one professional to address their medical issues and effective IP care relies upon health care professionals' abilities to communicate with one another. Competent communication improves the quality of care, thus enhancing patient outcomes. The objective of IP education (IPE) is to prepare students to deliver IP care in the future. Sultan Qaboos University's medical and nursing colleges train the future health workforce for Oman. However, students have no opportunities for collaborative learning. It is imperative that opportunities be created where students learn with, about, and from each other with the aim of improving the quality of care they are likely to deliver in the future.

Clinical confidence following an interprofessional educational program on eating disorders for health care professionals: a qualitative analysis

There are an increasing number of educational programs to improve clinical competence and skills to treat mental disorders. For complex disorders there is also a focus on improving the quality of interprofessional work. This paper reports on interprofessional outputs of an educational program on eating disorders. A total of 207 professionals who completed the program were requested to describe up to 12 possible scenarios depicted as realistic prospects for their future work within this field. Analyzing the scenarios resulted in three categories of describing the participants’ preferences: (1) interprofessional interventions and treatment; (2) the further development of competence; and (3) organization of the health care system. The findings showed that the participants were considering working across new lines in their current workplaces or crossing borders to new frontiers in the execution of competence. Our findings may be summarized into the concept of “clinical confidence.” This concept has so far been understood as some kind of personal trait, disposition, or attitude. The present findings add nuances to this concept in terms of state-dependent encouragement, engagement, and a potential to act and to cross professional borders in order to better treat complex mental disorders.

So how do you see our teaching? Some observations received from past and present students at the Maurice Wohl Dental Centre

This study explores student perceptions of clinical teaching delivered at the Maurice Wohl Dental Centre, King's College London Dental Institute. An on-line survey together with two paper-based questionnaires were used to invite three immediate past cohorts of final-year dental students to reflect and comment on their experiences during their year of attendance. Supporting data from current student focus group and face-to-face interviews were also included in the study. The principal findings from these triangulated methodologies were that the overwhelming majority of students felt they got on very well with their teachers. The development of a positive professional relationship with the teacher appeared to motivate students to work better. Teaching thought to be overly didactic and authoritarian would not be well received. The principal teaching style identified at the Centre was considered to be supportive and nurturing, encouraging a self-motivated and reflective approach to clinical practice.

A longitudinal study of the effect of an interprofessional education curriculum on student satisfaction and attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and education

There has been limited research on the effect of interprofessional education (IPE) over time on the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students. Previous research in this area has suggested that students from different professions report differing attitudes towards IPE and interprofessional teamwork, and such attitudes may also be influenced by other background characteristics of the students themselves (e.g., gender, age). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal effect of the introduction of an IPE curriculum on students' attitudes towards IPE and teamwork. A time series study design was conducted to assess the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students towards IPE and teamwork, and students were also asked to complete satisfaction surveys after IPE curriculum activities. Significant differences in the attitudes of students from different professions and their satisfaction with participation in IPE were reported over the duration of the study. Overall, student satisfaction with IPE participation was relatively positive; however the introduction of IPE curriculum during their undergraduate education did not appear to have a significant longitudinal effect on attitudes towards IPE or interprofessional teamwork. The findings have implications for the design and integration of IPE curriculum within existing uni-professional curriculum.

An interdisciplinary symposium on dementia care improves student attitudes toward health care teams

BACKGROUND

Interdisciplinary teams are sometimes used in the provision of health care to populations who present with complicated needs, such as older adults experiencing dementia. Moreover, there is an international consensus that health care students should receive training in interdisciplinary care.

METHODS

157 health care students from Xavier University's College of Social Sciences, Health, and Education in Cincinnati, U.S.A. participated in a five-hour symposium on an interdisciplinary approach to treating older adults with dementia. The Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS; Heinemann et al., 1999) was used to assess student attitudes before and after the symposium.

RESULTS

A paired-sample t-test was conducted to compare pre and post-test ATHCTS overall and subscale scores. There was a statistically significant increase in the overall pre-post ATHCTS scores and Quality of Care/Process Subscale scores. There was a significant decrease in the Physician Centrality Subscale scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that, after the symposium, participants reported more positive overall attitudes about health care teams, and about the quality of care provided by such teams and the teamwork to achieve good patient care. Participants also displayed a decrease in their beliefs about how essential physicians are as leaders of health care teams. These results affirm the use of a brief interdisciplinary educational approach in changing student attitudes about the use of health care teams. Students who develop more positive attitudes about working on an interdisciplinary health care team recognize the team's value and therefore may be more receptive to and effective in working as professional team members in the future.

Shared learning in primary care: Participants' views of the benefits of this approach

This is a study exploring participants' views regarding a series of shared or interprofessional learning sessions carried out in a primary care setting in Bradford, UK. One-hundred-and-twenty-four participants including doctors, practice nurses, nurse practitioners and health visitors attended six expert-led, case-based learning sessions on clinical topics relevant to their work. The evaluation of the sessions is presented, from questionnaire feedback including open responses. Participants had high expectations of shared learning, which was largely met in terms of sharing ideas regarding professional roles and sharing clinical knowledge and skills. Variations between professionals, and between sessions, are noted and discussed. It was concluded that shared or interprofessional learning in the workplace is valued by clinicians, can help improve understanding of professional roles and also enhance clinical learning.

Can interprofessional education DVD simulations provide an alternative method for clinical placements in nursing?

PURPOSE

The study aimed to evaluate the usability of DVD simulations, the impact on student learning, clinical placement orientation, and the potential for using DVD simulations to reduce the clinical placement burden on the health care system with nursing students.

METHOD

A total of 11 DVD simulations were developed by Monash University academics. Second year students (N=191) from the Bachelor of Nursing course at Monash University, viewed a range of DVDs. Students' perceptions and attitudes about the clinical relevance of the simulations were assessed by having them complete a 7-point Likert self-report scale. Qualitative data was also collected from two focus groups (N=7).

RESULTS

Overall, nursing students perceived the DVD simulations positively in relation to learning attention (M=4.93, SD=1.02, CI 4.25-4.54), learning potential (M=4.45, SD= 1.30, CI 5.13-5.50), clinical relevance to practice (M=5.32, SD=0.65, CI 4.36-4.55), and information processing quality (M=5.62, SD= 1.02, CI 5.47-5.76). The following themes emerged from the focus groups: provided familiarisation for clinical placements, learning wastage occurs in varying amounts, simulations could replace some clinical placement rotations, supportive of multidisciplinary approach and integration, and simulations should have pedagogical integration into weekly clinical cases.

CONCLUSION

Nursing students reported that the simulations were educationally, professionally, and clinically relevant. The cost benefit of using DVD simulations as an alternative and potential replacement to elements of nursing clinical placements should be investigated further.

Development of the ‘Attitudes to Health Professionals Questionnaire’ (AHPQ): A measure to assess interprofessional attitudes

This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of a measure to investigate interprofessional attitudes and how these attitudes change over time. Items for the questionnaire were elicited from 'construct exercises' with staff from different Health Schools resulting in a 20-item 'Attitudes to Health Professionals Questionnaire' (AHPQ). The questionnaire was completed by first year students from five different health professions. Its structure was evaluated using principal components analysis, the internal consistency was determined and the test-retest reliability assessed. Analysis of these data led to rephrasing/ removal of certain items and a revised form of the AHPQ. The revised AHPQ was completed by a different cohort of students and a preliminary validation was carried out. A solution with two main components labelled 'caring' and 'subservient' emerged from analysis of the structure of the initial AHPQ, the overall internal consistency was good although the test-retest reliability varied. Preliminary validation of the revised questionnaire suggested significant differences, on both scales, in students' attitudes towards different health professions at the outset of their training. The AHPQ appears to be a useful instrument for the assessment of interprofessional attitudes in the health professions.

Interprofessional learning and higher education structural barriers

Structural changes need to be made within universities such that interprofessional education for patient-centred collaborative practice becomes a responsibility that crosses faculty jurisdictions and is accepted as the responsibility of all associated health and human service programs. In communities, the patient or client is the centre of professional attention requiring care that goes beyond the skill and scope of any one profession. Notions about collaboration inform and drive interprofessional education and should lead to sustainable system changes within centres of advanced education that ensure a permanent place for interprofessional education in all health and human service programs. This chapter explores the many barriers to achieving this goal, and offers insights into their removal from one university's experience.

Mainstreaming interprofessional education in the United Kingdom: A position paper

Interprofessional education (IPE) is being built into the mainstream of professional education for all health and social care professions throughout the United Kingdom (UK) driven by the Labour Government elected in 1997, coincidentally the year that this Journal hosted the first All Together Better Health conference in London. The incoming government prioritized pre-qualifying IPE to be provided in partnership by universities and service agencies supported regionally by workforce development confederations, later absorbed into strategic health authorities (SHAs), and centrally by educational, professional and regulatory bodies. Ambitious agenda for pre-qualifying IPE set by government are being tempered by realistic assessment of current outcomes borne of experience and corroborated by evidence. This paper suggests some ways to ease constraints and improve outcomes, but emphasizes the need to generate continuing interprofessional learning opportunities that build on the basics. It argues that accumulating experience and evidence must be brought to bear in formulating criteria for the approval and review of IPE within regulatory systems for professional education. Can IPE be sustained within mainstream professional education once initial enthusiasm ebbs and earmarked funds run dry? That is the issue.

Beginning the process of teamwork: Design, implementation and evaluation of an inter-professional education intervention for first year undergraduate students

An evidence-based interprofessional educational (IPE) intervention involving first year undergraduate students studying medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy was piloted at the University of Liverpool. Campbell's phased approach and Complexity Theory guided development of the intervention and its evaluation. The intervention included a staff-training programme, e-learning materials and interprofessional team working skills workshops. A multi method study design was used to evaluate outcomes and the processes by which the outcomes had transpired. The first year cohort of students (n=442) was invited to attend the pilots. Fifty-four per cent (n=237) opted to attend. Findings showed that the intervention promoted theoretical learning about team working. It enabled the students to learn with and from each other (p<0.001), it significantly raised awareness about collaborative practice (p<0.05), and its link to improving the effectiveness of care delivery (p<0.01). The qualitative data showed that it served to increase students' confidence in their own professional identity and helped them to value difference making them better prepared for clinical placement. The findings support the need to start IPE early in students' training before professional doctrines have been built into their learning. As a result of the findings, the intervention has become compulsory for students to attend and the project has evolved to include trained service users/carers as co-facilitators of the workshops. It is also working on strengthening e-learning by integrating the generic materials into the curricula of all courses. Alongside this, strategies are being explored for interprofessional learning in practice.

Models of interprofessional learning in Canada

This article provides an overview of interprofessional education in Canada, with a view to defining programs at all levels in terms of what models have been employed. The available information implies that the lack of convincing evidence of the effectiveness of existing programs is probably the most serious problem for the expansion of interprofessional education. The objectives of the programs are both to increase the knowledge about the other professions and their scope of practice, and to improve team function, and there are a number of well-established interprofessional programs in Canada that are designed to achieve these objectives, and many other examples of programs that are partial or planned. Despite this, the present interprofessional education initiatives tend to involve only a small proportion of the total health work trainees. There is a need for programs that are more widespread. The most frequent model involves a mandatory experience, which is case-based, involves all the students registered in Health Faculties, and where the students form interprofessional student teams. In addition to examining believable cases, the students also learn some specific information about interacting with the other professions and gain knowledge about the roles, knowledge and contributions that can be made by professions other than their own.

Interprofessional training in clinical practice on a training ward for healthcare students: A two-year follow-up

This follow-up study describes the former students' lasting impressions of a two-week interprofessional course on a training ward aimed at enhancing the understanding of the roles of other professions and the importance of communication for teamwork and for patient care as well as providing an opportunity for profession-specific training. A questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions was sent to 633 former students two years after the course and 348 (55%) responded. The course was rated as very good and most of the former students had lasting and positive impressions. Ninety-two percent of respondents encouraged teamwork in their present work and 90% wanted to retain the course. The qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions resulted in five categories describing students' perceptions: professional role development, working in teams, tutoring, patient care and future aspects of the course and real world practice. Our results suggest that interprofessional training during undergraduate education provides lasting impressions that may promote teamwork in students' future occupational life.