Interprofessional teamwork: the role of professional identity and signature pedagogy - a mixed methods study

Evaluation of inter-professional seminar involving patient-partners and caregivers

OBJECTIVE

To assess the contribution of interprofessional education (IPE) for pre-graduate students from eight study branches. These seminars had patient-partners and caregivers as co-facilitators for reflexive conversations, with educational goals of learning interprofessional communication and involving patients in decision-making.

METHODS

A pre/post seminar comparison with 2 questionnaires about the students' professional identity, multidisciplinary collaboration and patients' involvement, and the richness of stakeholders' definitions.

RESULTS

1142 students participated in the course (n = 740 after removing missing data). The results indicate that this type of education helps students feel more confident in their ability to communicate and collaborate (z = -10,204; p < 0,001), involves patients in their care plan (z = -7,996; p < 0,001) and fosters the competence and autonomy of the post-graduate students in their own professional field (z = -10,627; p < 0,001). It also enriches the definition of patients' roles (n = 399; z = -17,276; p < 0,001).

CONCLUSION

Including patients-partners and caregivers in IPE enriches the professional identity and increases the self-efficacy of futures caregivers.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

This program exposed students to collaborative care practices, can reduce their resistance to this type of practice after graduation by making them more confident in using a structured team approach and recognising its benefits for both patients and caregivers.

Academic emotions and attitudes regarding interprofessional collaboration in health care activities: a prospective study among newly arrived physicians participating in a fourteen-week course

BACKGROUND

One way of facilitating entrance into the Swedish health care system, for newly arrived physicians from outside the European Union/European Economic Area, could be to set up and offer a course aimed to enhance understanding of it. This course was offered to increase insight about clinical practices, interprofessional teamwork and topics such as, Swedish health care laws, culture, and ethics. Acceptance of, and a flexible attitude towards, interprofessional teamwork are important for maintaining both the physician's professional identity and a high quality of patient care. The aim of this study was to investigate newly arrived physicians', academic emotions, experience of stress and flow during a fourteen-week course, as well as attitudes to interprofessional collaboration, both before and after.

METHOD

A prospective study was conducted, with participants asked to respond on one questionnaire every course day, by using the Contextual Activity Sampling System methodology. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire comprising ten questions about ongoing activity and in what way they experience, e.g., collaboration, interprofessional teamwork, academic emotions, flow, and stress. Furthermore, the participants were asked to score their attitude towards interprofessional teamwork by using the interdisciplinary education perception scale both before and after the course.

RESULTS

The total sample comprised 27 qualified physicians, from outside the European Union/European Economic Area. In the interdisciplinary education perception scale category, "perception of actual cooperation¨, the participants had significantly higher scores after the course. Flow and academic emotions were felt mostly during own periods of study, seminars, and lectures. The academic emotions were apathy, anxiety, and boredom. The most frequently experienced academic emotion was apathy. Course participants rated stress highest in connection with the examination.

CONCLUSION

The results show that the course had a positive impact on the participants perception of actual cooperation. It appears that participating in this kind of course was a positive experience for the participants, since they mostly experienced high levels of flow. Collaborating with others was experienced as positive, with participants reporting a high degree of flow in activities during collaboration.

Exploring the experiences of the team members in the interprofessional socialization process for becoming a interprofessional Collaborator

BACKGROUND

The current study aimed to explore the team members' experiences in the socialization process for becoming a collaborator in an interprofessional team.

METHOD

This qualitative study is conducted using an inductive qualitative content analysis approach. Participants consisted of 32 physicians (n = 16) and nurses (n = 16) who participated by purposeful sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman approach.

RESULTS

In the study, "the perceived confrontation between interprofessional professionalism and uni-professionalism in the interprofessional socialization process" is explored as the theme, including two categories: "interprofessional professionalism commitment" as a facilitator and "uni-professional centrism" as a barrier.

CONCLUSION

A reciprocal dimension in interprofessional socialization was explored. Interprofessional professionalism adherence and team-centered accountability among team members were explored as a facilitator. The uni-professional culture and immature interprofessional collaboration competencies of team members disrupted the interprofessional socialization process.

Strategic leadership and management factors driving sustainability in health-care organizations in Thailand

Purpose

This empirical study aims to identify the essential strategic leadership and management factors underlying sustainability in healthcare. It also examines which factors drive sustainability performance outcomes (SPO) in health-care organizations, an analysis lacking to date. It provides a strategic leadership and management perspective toward sustainable healthcare, responding to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation adopted Sustainable Leadership as its research framework. Using a cross-sectional survey, 543 employees working in health-care and pharmaceutical companies in Thailand voluntarily provided responses. Factor analyses and structural equation modeling were employed.

Findings

The results revealed an emergent research model and identified 20 unidimensional strategic leadership and management factors toward sustainability in healthcare. The findings indicate significant positive effects on SPO in health-care organizations. Significant factors include human resource management/development, ethics, quality, environment and social responsibility, and stakeholder considerations.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in one country. Future studies should examine these relationships in diverse contexts. In practice, health-care firms should foster significant strategic leadership and management practices to improve performance outcomes for sustainability in healthcare.

Originality/value

This paper is the first empirical, multidisciplinary study with a focus on strategic leadership, health-care management and organizational sustainability. It identifies a proxy for measuring the effects of essential strategic leadership and managerial factors for sustainability in pharmaceutical health-care companies. It advances our currently limited knowledge and provides managerial implications for improving performance outcomes toward sustainable healthcare.