Interprofessional team meetings: Opportunities for informal interprofessional learning

Linking Interprofessional Community Health Experiences With Nursing Education: 15 Years and Counting

BACKGROUND

Ensuring that nurses and other health care professionals are trained to work together in teams is critical.

PROBLEM

Recent literature describes interprofessional education (IPE) programs that meet community health needs. However, there is a need for descriptions of IPE programs embedded in the communities they serve.

APPROACH

Bridging the Gaps (BTG) is a collaboration between academic health institutions/universities and community organizations in the northeastern United States. BTG links IPE with the provision of health-related services for under resourced communities. This article describes the development of one BTG Community Health Internship Program (BTG CHIP) affiliate site (BTG, Lehigh Valley).

OUTCOMES

Since inception, 114 interns completed the program as part of BTG CHIP, Lehigh Valley, for a total of 3192 days of service provided to the community. BTG CHIP, Lehigh Valley, serves as a case study for establishing similar community-based IPE programs. This article describes challenges, opportunities, and replication strategies.

Interprofessional learning in practice-based settings: AMEE Guide No. 169

The provision of optimum health care services requires collaboration of health care professionals in integrated interprofessional (IP) teams. This guide addresses the practical aspects of establishing and delivering pre-licensure IP programs to prepare graduates of health professional programs to work in teams and wider collaboration, and consequently enhance the quality of health care. The main updated IP frameworks are presented to highlight commonalities that represent the essential competencies and outcomes of programs implementing interprofessional education (IPE). We discuss how these may be adapted to the local context, and present examples of models of implementation to guide the initial steps of establishing similar programs. Examples of pre-licensure IP practice-based learning, such as community-based, simulation-based, student-run and led clinics, and interprofessional training wards, and post-licensure interprofessional learning (IPL), are described. We consider assessment of IPL along the continuum of learning IP. This guide also emphasises the need to tailor faculty development programs for local contexts and consider factors affecting sustainability such as funding and accreditation. We finish with the governance of IP programs and how global IP networks may support interprofessional practice-based learning from development to delivery.

Participation in Multidisciplinary Teams Among Healthcare Professionals: A Discrete Choice Experiment in Tertiary Public Hospitals in China

Purpose

Healthcare professionals' participation is crucial for the efficient implementation of multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaboration models. We identified the key factors influencing healthcare professionals' preference to participate in MDTs in tertiary hospitals.

Methods

To clarify the attributes and levels of the discrete choice experiment (DCE), we conducted a targeted literature review and conducted in-depth interviews with MDT service providers. Following this, a DCE was designed to evaluate healthcare professionals' preferences for MDT participation, and the influence of factors such as salary subsidies, leadership attention, patient participation, quality assessment, working intensity, and case complexity. A conditional logit model estimated the utility of each attribute. Willingness-to-pay estimates were derived by taking the negative ratio of the coefficients of non-economic and economic attributes. A series of policy simulation analyses were conducted.

Results

Two hundred healthcare professionals completed the questionnaire, with 180 valid responses used for analysis. All attributes were statistically significant. Leadership attention and working intensity were the primary factors influencing staff willingness to participate in MDTs, followed by quality assessment and salary subsidies. Significant preference differences were observed between respondents; compared with mid-level staff, senior-level healthcare professionals believed patient engagement would be more helpful in boosting participation. The policy simulation showed that changing leadership attention from "neglect" to "emphasis" would increase the probability of staff choosing to participate in MDTs from 24.4% to 66.98%.

Conclusion

Leadership attention was the primary concern for healthcare professionals in MDTs. To effectively motivate staff participation in MDTs, policymakers should adopt a holistic approach that considers work motivation and individual backgrounds, including competitive salary packages and a positive work environment. They should concurrently introduce MDT case complexity measurement tools to optimize resource allocation. Addressing staff members' unique needs and career aspirations by creating targeted training programs, pathways for advancement, and personalized career development plans are also crucial.

The work performed through interprofessional meeting discourse: an observational study

The effectiveness of work performed through interprofessional practice is contingent on the nature and extent of communication between professionals. To date, there is little research exploring how the patterns of communication may impact interprofessional work. This study focused on communication during interprofessional meetings to better understand the interprofessional work performed through these encounters. Specifically, it examined how interactional discourse, that is, the patterns of language, influenced work performed during interprofessional meetings. A series of four interprofessional meetings in a rehabilitation unit were observed. Twenty-one participants were observed, including medical, nursing, allied health clinicians, and health professions students. Follow-up stimulated-recall interviews were conducted with five meeting participants. The data collection consisted of video and audio recordings and detailed field notes. Data were analyzed using a combination of genre analysis, a form of discourse analysis, and activity system analysis, drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory. This facilitated an in-depth examination of the structure of discourse and its influence on meeting outcomes. The meeting structure was defined and predictable. Two distinct forms of discourse were identified and labeled scripted and unscripted. Scripted discourse was prompted by standardized documents and facilitated the completion of organizational work. In contrast, unscripted discourse was spontaneous dialogue used to co-construct knowledge and contributed to collaboration. There was constant shifting between scripted and unscripted discourse throughout meetings which was orchestrated by experienced clinicians. Rather than fragmenting the discussion, this shifting enabled shared decision making. This research provides further insights into the interprofessional work performed during interprofessional meetings. The scripted discourse was highly influenced by artifacts (communication tools) in meetings, and these were used to ensure organizational imperatives were met. Unscripted discourse facilitated not only new insights and decisions but also social cohesion that may influence work within and outside the meeting.

"A strong reason why I enjoy coming to work": Clinician acceptability of a palliative and supportive care intervention (PACT) for older adults with acute myeloid leukemia and their care partners

INTRODUCTION

Studies about clinician acceptability of integrative palliative care interventions in the inpatient and outpatient cancer settings are limited. In this study, we examined clinician acceptability of a NIH-funded interdisciplinary PAlliative and Supportive Care inTervention (PACT) for older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their care partners that transcends both inpatient and outpatient settings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with clinicians who were directly involved in PACT. The domains of the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability were used to guide the qualitative analysis.

RESULTS

The clinicians consisted of occupational therapists (37%), physical therapists (25%), registered nurses (25%), and a clinical rehabilitation manager (13%). Five themes were identified in the thematic analysis: (1) Emotions and affect towards the intervention, (2) Intervention coherence and self-efficacy, (3) Barriers, burden, and opportunity costs of delivering the intervention, (4) Usefulness and effectiveness of the intervention, and (5) Recommendations to improve intervention delivery.

DISCUSSION

All clinicians found the PACT intervention highly acceptable and expressed the positive impact of the intervention on job fulfillment and satisfaction. Our findings provide evidence to inform the delivery and implementation of future large scale integrative palliative care intervention trials.

Ethisch begründet entscheiden in der Intensivmedizin

The process recommendations of the Ethics Section of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) for ethically based decision-making in intensive care medicine are intended to create the framework for a structured procedure for seriously ill patients in intensive care. The processes require appropriate structures, e.g., for effective communication within the treatment team, with patients and relatives, legal representatives, as well as the availability of palliative medical expertise, ethical advisory committees and integrated psychosocial and spiritual care services. If the necessary competences and structures are not available in a facility, they can be consulted externally or by telemedicine if necessary. The present recommendations are based on an expert consensus and are not the result of a systematic review or a meta-analysis.

Interprofessional Learning in Multidisciplinary Healthcare Teams Is Associated With Reduced Patient Mortality: A Quantitative Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to identify quantitative evidence for the efficacy of interprofessional learning (IPL) to improve patient outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative patient outcomes after IPL in multidisciplinary healthcare teams reported in the Medline, Scopus, PsycInfo, Embase, and CINAHL databases.

RESULTS

In 2022, we screened 15,248 reports to include 20 and extracted rates of mortality and primary outcomes in conventional care groups and intervention groups (involving initiatives to promote IPL in multidisciplinary teams). The meta-analysis of the 13 studies reporting mortality outcomes demonstrated that the 7166 patients in the intervention group had a significant 28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 40%-14%; P < 0.0003) reduced risk of dying compared with the 6809 patients in the conventional care group. The meta-analysis of the 14 studies reporting other treatment-related adverse outcomes demonstrated that the 4789 patients in the intervention group had a significant 23% (95% CI, 33%-12%; P < 0.0001) reduced risk of experiencing an adverse outcome during care compared with the 4129 patients in the conventional care group. Sensitivity analysis, involving the exclusion of the 20% of individual studies with the widest 95% CIs, confirmed the precision and reliability of our findings.

CONCLUSIONS

We believe that our results are the first to demonstrate significant quantitative evidence for the efficacy of IPL to translate into changes in clinical practice and improved patient outcomes. Our results reinforce earlier qualitative work of the value of IPL, but further prospective quantitative and mixed-methods research is needed to better define such benefits.

The Impact of Pre-Round Meetings on the Clinical Learning of Nurses and Doctors on Hospital Wards: A Qualitative Study

Introduction

The pre-round meeting is an interprofessional gathering conducted in conjunction with the ward round in many hospitals. Here, nurses, doctors and eventually allied health clinicians discuss clinical issues before attending to the patients. This study focused on the learning aspects of the pre-round meeting, and it is, to our knowledge, the first study to explore the impact of pre-round meetings on learning in a clinical setting.

Objectives

To improve our understanding of the impact pre-round meetings has on clinical learning among the nurses and doctors who attend them.

Method

A qualitative study. Focus group interviews were conducted. Participants comprised of 9 doctors and 13 nurses from two different hospitals in Norway. The participants represented both surgical and non-surgical departments

Results

This study showed that the pre-round meeting is an arena with a high learning potential. Learning takes place in the discussion that arises when different professions meet. Both nurses and doctors emphasized that the pre-round meeting is both a conscious learning arena and an arena where learning is a by-product. Several factors interfered with the utilization of its learning potential.

Conclusion

The pre-round meeting is an arena with high learning potential. However various factors can influence this potential. The study highlights the importance of being aware of the learning potential in the pre-round meeting, to achieve higher-level learning objectives. A collaborative environment, continuity, competence, and availability of the staff and structured pre-round meetings are essential elements for achieving higher-level learning objectives.

' … breaks down silos': allied health clinicians' perceptions of informal interprofessional interactions in the healthcare workplace

Informal interprofessional interactions have gained interest in recent interprofessional care, education, health services and social sciences research literature. Some of the established benefits associated with these interactions include enhanced communication, teamwork, research translation and the provision of safer care. Limited evidence about how informal interprofessional interactions are perceived by the allied health workforce, exists. The survey conducted at a large Australian health service explored allied health clinicians' perceptions of the benefits, challenges and enablers of informal interprofessional interactions and their recommendations to improve opportunities for these workplace interactions. Sixty-four responses were analysed descriptively (for close-ended questions) and using a framework analysis approach, informed by Bourdieu's social space theory (for open-ended questions). Perceived benefits were aligned with three themes: teams and organisations, individual clinicians and service-users. Challenges to, and enablers of, informal interprofessional interactions were identified according to five themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment, timing-related factors, individual and organisational factors. Participant recommendations to increase opportunities for informal interprofessional workplace interactions for allied health reflected three of the aforementioned themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment and organisational factors. This theoretically-informed analysis may aid in the development of strategies to support these types of workplace interactions and realise the benefits identified.

The Ties That Bind: Camaraderie in Military Interprofessional Healthcare Teams

INTRODUCTION

Multiple aspects of interpersonal dynamics can help or hinder the success of teams, particularly those in a Military Interprofessional Healthcare Team (MIHT). One specific mechanism for MIHTs' success is camaraderie and how these military teams are able to achieve, maintain, and enable the development of this important characteristic. Despite our understanding of military service members as being bonded like a family, we have a limited understanding of how this bond is translated into their MIHT experiences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study conducted interviews among 30 individuals who had participated in, led individual, and/or led many MIHTs, using a grounded theory methodology. Participants represented 11 different health professions, including officers and enlisted military members, and three branches of the U.S. military (e.g., army, navy, and air force). Data were collected and analyzed in iterative cycles until saturation was achieved.

RESULTS

We identified six themes that shaped the overarching concept of camaraderie in MIHTs. These themes were (1) confidence in competent peers, (2) shared goals, (3) mutual respect, (4) desire to help one another improve, (5) personal is professional, and (6) bonds of military service. This paper describes each of these themes, provides illustrative examples from the data, and describes how these components contribute to MIHTs' team dynamics. We present a model for how to understand these themes.

CONCLUSIONS

Through the identification and exploration of these aspects of camaraderie, we are able to better understand how MIHTs are able to be successful. MIHTs that demonstrated confidence in their brother/sister in arms possessed shared goals and missions, while maintaining mutual respect, a desire to help one another do better, and creating a personal and professional overlap tended to form stronger bonds of military service. Critically, these six aspects support a more nuanced understanding of the spirit of camaraderie and how it underpins MIHT success.

Collaboration among healthcare professionals at the public hospitals in Gaza: a quantitative study

Purpose

This study aimed at assessing the current interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among healthcare professionals at the public hospitals in the Gaza Strip in 2016 through measuring the average level, and also examind the influence of professionals' characteristics on their collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative, cross-sectional study using a valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale was conducted. A total of 323 participants from six health professions completed the questionnaire which was analyzed using SPSS version 20 by applying descriptive tests, t-test, ANOVA and inferential analysis (Scheffe test); the statistical significance was considered at p = 0.05.

Findings

The interprofessional collaboration was moderate (71.66%). “General relationships” elicited the highest mean score (3.943) due to participants' belief in its importance, whereas “community linkages and coordination of care” was the lowest (3.181) as a result of the restricted policy in this regard. Gender, age, profession and position have shown statistically significant variables on the overall collaboration. In short, there are differences in the performance of IPC domains and even within items of the same domain.

Research limitations/implications

This study was conducted at only public hospitals; in addition, it was a cross-sectional study, so the causation relationships are difficult to assess. Moreover, the questionnaire was on self-administered basis which might result in misread or misunderstood bias.

Originality/value

This was the first study in the Palestinian context on collaboration between multiple professions using a comprehensive and reliable assessment tool.

Interprofessional Education and Collaboration: Strategies for Implementation

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an integral educational outlook that is necessary to make sure that the graduates of an allied health care education are able to be valuable members or leaders of collaborative healthcare practices. Literature and resources are available about various models that have been used by different institutions to integrate IPE as part of their curriculum. With the growing need for collaborative practice, the curriculum must be designed to foster competencies required for IPE. There are challenges present, but with the concerted effort of the administration, faculty, and students, the benefits of IPE can be enjoyed by the institution and eventually by patients.

Can multidisciplinary team meetings reduce burnout?

Burnout is an epidemic affecting between a third and two-thirds of health care providers in the US. The prevalence and impact of burnout in the health care workforce is increasing, and most interventions thus far have shown limited efficacy. In an ongoing mixed-methods study of establishing a specialty medical home, providers reported gaining interprofessional learning and collegiate support through a patient-centered weekly team meeting that they believed was protective of burnout. Further research is needed into whether medical home models can improve not only patient, but also provider wellbeing.

Developing occupational therapists' capabilities for decision-making capacity assessments: how does a support role facilitate workplace learning?

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare practitioners are required to develop capabilities in an effective and efficient manner. Yet, developing capabilities in healthcare settings can be challenging due to the unpredictable nature of practice and increasing workloads. Unsurprisingly, healthcare practitioner development is often situated outside of practice, for example in formal teaching sessions. Supporting practitioners to develop capabilities through engagement with day-to-day practice, whilst advantageous in terms of authenticity and being highly valued, remains a key challenge for healthcare educators. This qualitative interview study aimed to explain, from the learner's perspective, how a dedicated support role develops occupational therapists' capability to contribute to decision-making capacity assessments.

METHODS

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 occupational therapists. Informed by workplace learning theory, interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis process.

RESULTS

Participants provided rich descriptions of how they developed in their capability to engage in decision-making capacity assessments. Participants reported that their learning was facilitated by the dedicated support role in three key ways: 1) structuring a journey of learning, 2) providing tailored guidance, and 3) fostering a supportive learning environment.

DISCUSSION

Participants valued the authentic workplace learning opportunities afforded by the dedicated support role. Findings suggest that capabilities, such as decision-making capacity assessment, can be developed through practice when enriched by a dedicated support role. However, further research examining the sustainability and transferability of this model and its application to other capabilities are warranted.

Scaffolding Clinical Reasoning of Health Care Students: A Qualitative Exploration of Clinicians' Perceptions on an Interprofessional Obstetric Ward

PURPOSE

Interprofessional education (IPE) on a ward supports students to generate interprofessional patient care plans as a means to learn about the roles, responsibilities, and clinical reasoning of other professions. We investigated how clinicians guide the clinical reasoning of students from their own and other professions and whether clinicians from nursing, midwifery, and medicine could scaffold students from all professions, that is, by providing just-in-time and tailored support.

METHODS

Nine supervising clinicians from medicine, nursing, and midwifery were interviewed and a repeat interview held 3 to 15 weeks later; one nurse supervisor was interviewed only once. Using conventional content analysis, themes were identified inductively. Next, we applied an existing scaffolding framework to conceptualise how clinicians supported the clinical reasoning in an IPE setting.

RESULTS

Themes were clinicians' interventions and intentions, results of interventions and of IPE, characteristics of students and clinicians, interactions between clinicians and students, and logistics. Clinicians applied various interventions and expressed several intentions to guide the learning of students from all professions. Clinicians stimulated students' clinical reasoning by structuring meetings, asking students to explain their thoughts to each other and through giving group assignments. Thus, clinicians used peer-assisted learning for the students. By collaborating with other supervising clinicians regarding the form and amount of guidance to give to the students, clinicians applied peer-assisted learning for themselves as well.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians can learn to scaffold the clinical reasoning of students from different professions, when they are provided with training, good examples, and structures. An existing scaffolding framework can serve as an overview of aims and interventions to provide just-in-time guidance to students from all professions. The scaffolding framework is useful for training clinicians and for depicting the pedagogical approach for IPE wards.

Nursing profession and nurses' contribution to nursing education as seen through students' eyes: A qualitative study

The behavior of clinical instructors, as observed by students, deeply influences their professional development. When instructors behave unprofessionally, they risk undermining the professional growth students gain from their clinical placement experience. Clinical instructors need to be aware of how their behavior can affect the students' learning process and the contributions they make to clinical nursing education. A qualitative study was performed to describe the nursing profession as perceived by students who observed their clinical instructors' behaviors during the clinical experience. In-depth interviews of nursing students were conducted until data saturation was attained. Sixteen interviews were analyzed using an inductive content analysis methodology. The nursing profession was described by the participants through five themes as follows: the helping relationship, technical role, professional growth, working group, and contradictions and conflicts. Several examples of unprofessional behaviors on the part of the clinical instructors were reported by the respondents. The nursing profession, as perceived by nursing students, does not always reflect their expectations and their ideas related to professionalism. Universities and schools of nursing should ascertain that clinical instructors are prepared to educate students. Faculty should clearly state to students what they can expect from the clinical experience, namely, preparing students to face real working environments that do not always reflect educational philosophies.

Integrative Literature Review on Informal Learning: Antecedents, Conceptualizations, and Future Directions

Despite intense interest in informal learning in the workplace, few attempts have been made to synthesize the current literature. This article provides an integrative and analytical review of prior empirical studies with two research questions: (1) How has informal learning been conceptualized and measured in prior research? and (2) What factors influencing informal learning in the workplace have been empirically identified? Based on the findings from the first research question, the authors propose a conceptual framework for understanding informal learning activities using three dimensions: learning competence, intentionality, and developmental relatedness. To answer the second question, Lewin’s field theory, which captures the importance of the person and the environment fit, was applied to identify antecedents of informal learning at the individual, group, and organizational levels. The authors then provide a critique of the state of the informal learning literature and outline targeted suggestions to guide practice and future empirical, theoretical work.

Understanding students' and clinicians' experiences of informal interprofessional workplace learning: an Australian qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

While postgraduate studies have begun to shed light on informal interprofessional workplace learning, studies with preregistration learners have typically focused on formal and structured work-based learning. The current study investigated preregistration students' informal interprofessional workplace learning by exploring students' and clinicians' experiences of interprofessional student-clinician (IPSC) interactions.

DESIGN

A qualitative interview study using narrative techniques was conducted.

SETTING

Student placements across multiple clinical sites in Victoria, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Through maximum variation sampling, 61 participants (38 students and 23 clinicians) were recruited from six professions (medicine, midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, paramedicine and physiotherapy).

METHODS

We conducted 12 group and 10 individual semistructured interviews. Themes were identified through framework analysis, and the similarities and differences in subthemes by participant group were interrogated.

RESULTS

Six themes relating to four research questions were identified: (1) conceptualisations of IPSC interactions; (2) context for interaction experiences; (3) the nature of interaction experiences; (4) factors contributing to positive or negative interactions; (5) positive or negative consequences of interactions and (6) suggested improvements for IPSC interactions. Seven noteworthy differences in subthemes between students and clinicians and across the professions were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the results largely supporting previous postgraduate research, the findings illustrate greater breadth and depth of understandings, experiences and suggestions for preregistration education. Educators and students are encouraged to seek opportunities for informal interprofessional learning afforded by the workplace.

A comunicação na perspectiva dialógica da prática interprofissional colaborativa em saúde na Atenção Primária à Saúde

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a comunicação enquanto domínio da prática interprofissional colaborativa em Saúde no processo de trabalho das equipes da Atenção Primária à Saúde. Trata-se de um estudo com abordagem qualitativa, de caráter descritivo e interpretativo, cujos dados constituem um recorte de dissertação de mestrado, realizado em Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) de um município do noroeste do estado do Paraná, Brasil, com 84 profissionais de equipes da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS). Os dados foram coletados por grupos focais, organizados pela classificação hierárquica descendente do software IRaMuTeQ®, submetidos à análise lexical e discutidos pela Teoria da Ação Dialógica. Levantaram-se cinco classes de léxicos que, quando agrupados, revelaram como ocorre a comunicação entre as equipes da Atenção Primária à Saúde. A comunicação, de caráter interprofissional e colaborativo, ainda é um desafio para as equipes de saúde conduzirem um processo de trabalho compartilhado, dialógico e transformador.

'More effort and more time.' Considerations in the establishment of interprofessional education programs in the workplace

The argument for integrating interprofessional education (IPE) activities into the workplace has been made concurrently with the call for collaborative clinical practice. An exploratory case study investigation of existing activities in a large metropolitan health care network was undertaken to inform the development of future IPE initiatives. Purposive sampling invited clinicians involved in the design or delivery of workplace IPE activities to participate in a semi-structured interview to discuss their existing programs and the opportunities and challenges facing future work. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and thematically analysed. In total, 15 clinicians were interviewed representing medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, psychology, social work and speech pathology. The IPE programs identified included one medical and midwifery student workshop, several dedicated new graduate or intern programs combining the professions and multiple continuing professional development programs. Three dominant themes were identified to inform the development of future work: clinician factors, organisational factors and IPE considerations. In addition to the cultural, physical and logistical challenges associated with education that integrates professions in the workplace, the time required for the design and delivery of integrated team training should be accounted for when establishing such programs. Considerations for sustainability include ongoing investment in education skills for clinicians, establishment of dedicated education roles and expansion of existing education activities.

Development and initial validation of the interprofessional team learning profiling questionnaire

Informal workplace interprofessional learning occurs as health professionals interact with each other as part of everyday work practice. Participation in interprofessional team meetings is a practical way to foster learning. However, a gap exists in the availability of a reliable and valid instrument that adequately captures the nuances of informal workplace interprofessional learning in this setting. The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure the different components of interprofessional learning that contribute to the quality of interprofessional learning within the interprofessional team meeting. Questionnaire items were developed from a review of the literature and interviews with health professionals. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the underlying factor structure. Two hundred and eighty-five health professionals completed a 98-item questionnaire. After elimination of unreliable items, the remaining items (n = 41) loaded onto four factors named personal and professional capacity; turning words into action-"walk the talk"; the rhetoric of interprofessional learning-"talk the talk"; and inclusiveness. Internal consistency was high for all sub-scales (Cronbach's alpha 0.91, 0.87, 0.83, and 0.83, respectively). Content, construct, and concurrent validity were assessed. The instrument developed in this study indicated consistency and robust psychometric properties. Future studies that further test the psychometric properties of the questionnaire will help to establish the usefulness of this measure in establishing evidence for the perceived effectiveness of interprofessional learning in a healthcare setting.

Interprofessional primary care team meetings: a qualitative approach comparing observations with personal opinions

BACKGROUND

The number of people with multiple chronic conditions requiring primary care services increases. Professionals from different disciplines collaborate and coordinate care to deal with the complex health care needs. There is lack of information on current practices regarding interprofessional team (IPT) meetings.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to improve our understanding of the process of interprofessional collaboration in primary care team meetings in the Netherlands by observing the current practice and exploring personal opinions.

METHODS

Qualitative study involving observations of team meetings and interviews with participants. Eight different IPT meetings (n = 8) in different primary care practices were observed by means of video recordings. Experiences were explored by conducting individual semi-structured interviews (n = 60) with participants (i.e. health care professionals from different disciplines) of the observed team meetings. The data were analysed by means of content analysis.

RESULTS

Most participants expressed favourable opinions about their team meetings. However, observations showed that team meetings were more or less hectic, and lacked a clear structure and team coordinator or leader. There appears to be a discrepancy between findings from observations and interviews. From the interviews, four main themes were extracted: (1) Team structure and composition, (2) Patient-centredness, (3) Interaction and (4) Attitude and motivation.

CONCLUSION

IPT meetings could benefit from improvements in structure, patient-centredness and leadership by the chairpersons. Given the discrepancy between observations and interviews, it would appear useful to improve team members' awareness of aspects that could be improved before training them in dealing with specific challenges.