Interprofessional learning experiences: Exploring the perception and attitudes of Saudi Arabian medical and dental students

Variations in measurement of interprofessional core competencies: a systematic review of self-report instruments in undergraduate health professions education

Educating health care professionals for working in interprofessional teams is a key preparation for roles in modern healthcare. Interprofessional teams require members who are competent in their roles. Self-assessment instruments measuring interprofessional competence (IPC) are widely used in educational preparation, but their ability to accurately and reliably measure competence is unknown. We conducted a systematic review to identify variations in the characteristics and use of self-report instruments measuring IPC. Following a systematic search of electronic databases and after applying eligibility criteria, 38 articles were included that describe 8 IPC self-report instruments. A large variation was found in the extent of coverage of IPC core competencies as articulated by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative. Each instrument's strength of evidence, psychometric performance and uses varied. Rather than measuring competency as "behaviours", they measured indirect proxies for competence, such as attitudes towards core interprofessional competencies. Educators and researchers should identify the most appropriate and highest-performing IPC instruments according to the context in which they will be used.Systematic review registration: Open Science Framework (https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-vrfjn-v1).

Exploring the awareness, attitude, and inclination of healthcare students towards interprofessional education: A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Background

Interprofessional education (IPE) is acknowledged to enhance understanding between professionals and to facilitate learning. Healthcare professionals may be better equipped to accept and esteem other healthcare professionals, if interprofessional education is incorporated into undergraduate curricula. The management of challenging patient issues may also significantly benefit from this. As a result, the current study examined interprofessional education in their institutions and students' knowledge of and attitudes toward it.

Methodology

We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study among students from a university in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, who were enrolled in courses in medical, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, allied health, and public health. Following validation, the questionnaire included six questions to probe their knowledge, ten questions to gauge their attitude, and eleven questions to inquire about the growth and use of IPE in their institutions. Multiple regression and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to examine the data.

Results

The survey involved 600 students, and 66.8% of the respondents were male. Less than one-third of students studying medicine replied to the survey, while students in the public health department had the lowest response rate. Compared to students in other programs, pharmacy students achieved a higher mean attitude score toward IPE (P < 0.001). Additionally, nursing and pharmacy students' mean IPE awareness scores were higher than those of medical students (P < 0.001). However, all program participants firmly agreed that integrating IPE into the curriculum was a good idea.

Conclusions

The study found that students of a few programs had awareness and a positive attitude toward interprofessional education. Nonetheless, all of them favored its inclusion in their curriculum. They also stressed the need to educate teaching faculty on interprofessional education, to develop skilled facilitators within their institutions.

Interprofessional education (IPE) in medical radiation science: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Interprofessional education (IPE) in medical radiation education is designed to enhance both student and longer-term patient outcomes. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the available evidence and examine the effectiveness of IPE strategies used to enhance the development of medical radiation science (MRS) students.

METHODS

Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Emcare were searched for articles which employed an experimental study design to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of IPE for MRS students. Two reviewers screened and extracted relevant data independently. Critical appraisal was conducted using the JBI critical appraisal tool.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies were included in this review. Diverse approaches to IPE were discovered, particularly in terms of the method of delivery, setting and duration of interventions. MRS students interact with many professions, particularly medical doctors and nurses. All studies which employed a control arm demonstrated statistically positive findings favoring IPE intervention(s). In pre-post studies, most IPE interventions reported significant positive differences after IPE was implemented. This entailed an enhanced perceived knowledge and understanding of other professions, and ability to undertake their role in the team.

CONCLUSION

IPE was shown to be effective in enhancing students' perceptions and attitudes and to a limited extent, improve knowledge acquisition. Future research should assess long-term effects and patient-related outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

IPE in a variety of formats demonstrates positive results for MRS students; however, interventions which are longer-term, conducted in small groups, and performed earlier in the educational pathway, may demonstrate greater effectiveness.

Can interprofessional education change students' attitudes? A case study from Lebanon

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional collaboration is key to improving the health of individuals and communities. It is supported by provision of Interprofessional education (IPE) which has recently emerged in the Middle East region. This study investigated changes in healthcare students' attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration after undertaking the Interprofessional Education and Collaboration (IPEC) course.

METHODS

A paper-based anonymous survey using the Interprofessional Attitude Scale (IPAS) was administered to a sample of 346 health students (nursing, medicine, and public health) pre/post undertaking the IPEC course. Less than half of the students provided a post response, with pre/post survey results of 111 pairs subsequently matched and analyzed.

RESULTS

Results showed elevated pre-course scores, an improvement in students' attitudes towards the interprofessional biases domain of the IPAS, and a slight decline in their scores in the remaining 4 domains (team roles and responsibilities, patient centeredness, community centeredness, and diversity and ethics). These changes were not statistically significant, except for the patient centeredness domain (p = 0.003**).

CONCLUSIONS

The study provided important results about attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration. These findings are essential because our institution is one of few in Lebanon that provides this mandatory course to a large group of health professionals. Future studies should investigate these changes in attitude scores in a larger sample size, and how these attitudes would influence collaboration post-graduation.

Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Among First Year Medical and Dental Students in Nepal

Introduction

Health professional education curricula in Nepal do not include interprofessional education (IPE). Though a previous study conducted in Nepal identified positive attitudes among medical and nursing students, so far there are no studies assessing the health professional students' readiness toward IPE. The aim of the study was to assess the readiness for IPE among medical and dental students.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study explored the readiness of conveniently selected first-year medical and dental students towards IPE and compared readiness among subgroups of respondents. The readiness was assessed through an online survey using the standard Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) during June 2021. The nineteen questions in RIPLS were categorized under four domains: teamwork and collaboration (items 1-9), negative professional identity (items 10-12), positive professional identity (items 13-16), and roles and responsibilities (items 17-19). The individual statements were scored and assessed as per the study objectives. The scores were not normally distributed, so non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal Wallis test) were used.

Results

A total of 83 students (69 medical and 14 dental) students responded. The median total score was 75, IQR 6 with the maximum score being 95. The median (IQR) scores for the domains teamwork and collaboration were 38 (IQR 3), negative professional identity 11 (IQR 2), positive professional identity 16 (IQR 3), roles and responsibilities 10 (3). The scores were different between students aged 20 years and below = 37, and above 20 years = 38; (p =< 0.001) in the negative professional identity domain and the total score (p = 0.001). The scores were also different among those with and without previous learning exposure with other discipline students in the same class (p = 0.046). A high median score of 5 was achieved for 8 out of 19 statements in the questionnaire.

Conclusion

The findings showed a high level of readiness for IPE among student respondents. Study findings can be considered as a positive factor for implementing IPE sessions.

Psychometric appraisal of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) Arabic-version

Interprofessional education within healthcare has been shown to have many benefits, however, it is a relatively new educational concept within the Arabic setting. Although the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale is a commonly utilised tool to examine student attitudes, there is a lack of evidence for use of an Arabic translated version. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an Arabic language version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale with Saudi nurses. Two independent translators, proficient in both English and Arabic languages, completed a forward-backward translation of the original English version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Subsequently, this Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version was used to collect data from undergraduate nursing students enrolled at a number of Saudi Arabian universities. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were then performed on the scale. Six hundred and fifty-two participants were recruited. Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version resulted in a 15-item, three-factor model. Subsequent analysis with Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the resultant final 13-item model demonstrated a poor fit between the hypothesized model and the data. Although our three-factor model is supported by previous studies, the proposed model did not perform well on Confirmatory Factor Analysis assessment. This suggests that there may be issues of applicability of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version within the current cohort. The present study of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version has demonstrated some psychometric inadequacies and thus it is possible that this scale may not be appropriate for use with Saudi nurses. However further research with different professional groups is suggested to fully explore its utility within the Saudi setting.

Needs Assessment for Interprofessional Education: Implications for Integration and Readiness for Practice

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important concept to promote health professionals for interprofessional collaboration. Successful implementation of IPE in health education programs requires consideration of readiness and effectiveness and faces some challenges/barriers. The aim of this study was to examine the perception, understanding and attitude of health profession students and faculty members toward IPE. A cross-sectional study was conducted with students and faculty members from six health professions at Taif University. The study involved administration of the Readiness for Inter-Professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire to all students. In addition, focus groups were conducted separately with both students and faculty members. The study showed that only 10 participants (four students, six faculty members) indicated their previous knowledge of IPE. IPE remains a new approach for the majority of students and faculty members. There was no significant difference in the readiness of IPE between professions. Students and faculty members showed positive attitudes toward the IPE curriculum and they believe that it will improve medical education at our university.

Students' readiness for and perception of Interprofessional learning: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Several studies reported that Inter-professional Education (IPE) plays a major role in creating an effective collaborating environment in healthcare settings to achieve high-quality patient care. This study measured the College of Applied Medical Sciences (CAMS) students' readiness for and perceptions of IPE.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 232 undergraduate students in Riyadh, using a stratified random sampling method. All the undergraduate students of CAMS were included. Two previously validated questionnaires, the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) were used in the study.

RESULTS

The mean score for the RIPLS was 86.8. The Tukey post-hoc test score was significantly higher comparing the Occupational Therapy and the Respiratory Therapy programs. There was no difference between the overall RIPLS and subscales between male and female students as well as senior and junior students. For the IEPS, the mean score was 77.7. The Tukey post-hoc test score was significantly higher in the Occupational Therapy and Respiratory Therapy programs.

CONCLUSION

The current study indicated that the Applied Medical Sciences' students demonstrated readiness for IPE as an important element in creating collaborative teamwork in their programs. The early incorporation of IPE in the pre-professional years will enhance collaboration in management and patient care.

Medical students' readiness and perceptions about Interprofessional Education: A cross sectional study

Objectives:

Interprofessional Education (IPE) provides an environment where learners demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitude required to manage the complex clinical scenarios in a collaborative and interprofessional manner. The actual sphere of influence of Interprofessional Education in many medical schools has been limited. Therefore, the present study aim was to evaluate the medical students’ readiness and perception of Interprofessional Education in a medical college in Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

This questionnaire based cross sectional study was executed in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University during the period September 2016 to December 2017, using the 19-item Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) with four subscales teamwork and collaboration, negative professional identity, positive professional identity and roles and responsibilities. The questionnaire was e-mailed to 1411 medical students and responses were analyzed using 5-point Likert scale.

Results:

A total of 158 medical students and trainees responded to the survey, 69 (43.6%) were males and 89 (56.4%) were females. The majority of participants 122-148 (77-94%) acknowledged the positive impact of IPE on teamwork and collaboration, more than two thirds 105 (64.45%) disagreed with negative attitude and 110-126 (70-80%) showed positive professional identity.

Conclusions:

Medical students showed a positive perception and ready to adopt the Interprofessional Educational allied activities in medical schools. The shared academic events would improve in clarifying the roles and responsibilities of medical students in health care professions.