Early-learners' expectations of and experience with IPE: A multi-institutional qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Multi-institutional qualitative studies are scarce within the interprofessional education (IPE) literature; such a report would provide comprehensive evidence for the application of interprofessional instruction among earlier learners. OBJECTIVE: This investigation explored students' expectations of and barriers to introductory IPE across four institutions. DESIGN: Qualitative inductive content analysis was utilized to interpret students' narrative responses to assigned pre- and post-survey questions. SETTING: Health science schools of four U.S. institutions at Institution A, Institution B, Institution C, and Institution D. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two percent (n = 385) of eligible participants completed both pre- and post-surveys. Nursing student participation was greatest (n = 113, 33%), followed by occupational therapy (n = 44, 13%), and physical therapy (n = 36, 10%). All other program participation was <10%. In total, students' narrative comments from 19 degree programs were a part of the data set. METHODS: Responses from one pre-survey question on expectations of introductory IPE and two post-survey questions on IPE benefits and barriers were studied using qualitative inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged as IPE learning expectations and benefits: my own professional role, professional role of others, teamwork, and communication. The theme of interacting with peers surfaced as an additional IPE benefit. There were four themes noted as IPE barriers: course logistics, lack of context, course content, and social dynamics. CONCLUSION: This multi-institutional qualitative study adds to the literature by providing empirical evidence regarding early learner perceptions of IPE experiences. Student expectations and benefits of their introductory IPE course/curriculum aligned. Perceived barriers are useful in informing future IPE implementation and research.

Measuring Student Interprofessional Skills in the Roles/Responsibilities Competency.

PURPOSE: To assess students' perceptions and knowledge of interprofessional collaborative practice related to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Roles/Responsibilities (RRs) competency after engagement in interprofessional education experiences. METHODS: Thirty physician assistant students were surveyed 3 times during the clinical year to assess the level of collaborative engagement with 5 professions. The level of engagement was assessed utilizing a 5-point Likert scale, and an open-ended question measured student knowledge of other professionals' roles. RESULTS: Student responses indicated that the level of engagement was greatest during the first clinical semester overall for all 3 levels of engagement. An increase in the level of engagement was noted for 2 professions over the one-year study period. Students also provided examples of opportunities where they relied on the expertise of another profession during the clinical rotation year. CONCLUSION: Study results confirm student acquisition of 2 IPEC RR subcompetencies during clinical rotations. However, there remains a gap in correlating interprofessional education with interprofessional collaborative practice.

Longitudinal interprofessional education in a graduate physiology course.

The primary purpose of conducting two interprofessional education (IPE) experiences during a multidisciplinary physiology graduate-level course was to provide basic science, physical therapy, and physician assistant graduate students opportunities to work as a team in the diagnosis, treatment, and collaborative care when presented with a patient case focused on acute kidney injury (first case) and female athlete triad (second case). The secondary purpose was to apply basic physiology principles to patient case presentations of pathophysiology. The overall purpose was to assess the longitudinal effects and the value of IPE integrated within a basic science course. The following Interprofessional Education Collaborative subcompetencies were targeted: roles/responsibilities (RR1, RR4). Students were given a pre- and postsurvey to assess their IPE perceptions and knowledge of professional roles. There were statistically significant increases from the presurvey renal IPE experience to the presurvey endocrine IPE experience for two perception questions regarding the ability to explain the roles and responsibilities of a physical therapist (PT) and physician assistant using a Likert scale. In addition, student knowledge of the role of a PT increased significantly when comparing the renal IPE presurvey to the endocrine IPE presurvey results to open-ended questions. Students' perceptions of their knowledge as well as their ability to express, in writing, their newly learned knowledge of the role of a PT was sustained over time. Incorporating multiple IPE experiences into multidisciplinary health science courses represents an appropriate venue to have students learn and apply interprofessional competencies.

Supporting Health System Transformation: The development of an integrated interprofessional curriculum inclusive of public health students.

Under pressures to support health system transformation, many health professional accreditation organizations have incorporated standards requiring interprofessional education. However, the inclusion of population health topics and public health or health administration students into IPE experiences is limited. With the belief that understanding and cooperation among the health professions will be important to support health system transformation, The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans has created several IPE experiences focused on population health, programs that are examined in this article along with insights that could prove useful for other programs seeking to build IPE into their regular curricula.

The potential of interprofessional education to translate physiology curricula effectively into future team-based healthcare.

Incorporating active interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities into the classroom setting is a potentially effective mechanism to enhance student learning both in the basic sciences and for future interprofessional collaboration. We integrated an IPE exercise into a graduate-level human physiology course at our health sciences center that enrolled physician assistant (PA), physical therapy (PT), and graduate studies students. Our activity adopted and targeted the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competency domains of values/ethics (VE), roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork (TT). Effectiveness of the training exercise was determined via pre- and postsurveys, which assessed student self-perceptions of IPEC competency domains, as well as student reflections and evaluations of the exercise itself. We noted a significant improvement in each of the targeted IPEC subcompetencies among all of the students, and within both PT and PA groups when analyzed separately. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the number of previous IPE experiences and presurvey IPEC VE and TT subcompetency ratings. Our discoveries provide an example of broad acquisition of IPE learning within the context of a physiology curriculum. Perhaps more importantly, our findings indicate that a history of IPE training sets the stage for future IPE learning, reflecting a potential for IPE to transform basic physiological principles into team-based practice and improvement in patient outcomes.

Promoting Hearing Health Collaboration Through an Interprofessional Education Experience.

PURPOSE: To enhance audiology and physician assistant (PA) student appreciation for collaboration/team-based care through an interprofessional educational activity focused on hearing assessments. METHOD: A total of 18 students from Louisiana State University Health-New Orleans's audiology and PA programs participated in an optional interprofessional education learning opportunity, which included a demonstration of hearing assessments. To assess student perspectives regarding interprofessional learning, the students completed pre- and post-surveys. RESULTS: Eighteen students completed a survey, including 5 questions using a Likert scale and 1 open-ended question. Both audiology and PA students demonstrated significant statistical improvement in 2 interprofessional competencies: roles/responsibilities and interprofessional communication. Students also reported increased awareness and knowledge in the skills of the opposite professions as related to hearing assessments. CONCLUSION: Integrating interprofessional education experiences within an audiology program promotes collaborative practice patterns and supports new educational accreditation standards. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5491669.

Student perceptions about interprofessional education after an elective course.

A growing body of evidence indicates interprofessional collaborative practice improves patient care. With this in mind, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center formally committed to expanding interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. Thirty-eight self-selected students enrolled in an IPE elective course during the fall of 2012. Students completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) pre- and post-course and also completed a post-course survey. Results indicated a significant change in the roles and responsibilities scale of the RIPLS. Analysis of the data from the post-course survey demonstrated students were able to identify key terms of an IPE definition, as related to their learning experience. In addition, themes of communication, learning/increased knowledge, and collaboration/contribution of other health care professionals were noted across all questions in the post-course survey. Based on the results of this study, an elective course is a promising educational opportunity to increase awareness and knowledge of IPE within academic medical centers.