Professional identity acquisition process model in interprofessional education using structural equation modelling: 10-year initiative survey.

The mandatory interprofessional education (IPE) programme at Gunma University, Japan, was initiated in 1999. A questionnaire of 10 items to assess the students' understanding of the IPE training programme has been distributed since then, and the factor analysis of the responses revealed that it was categorised into four subscales, i.e. "professional identity", "structure and function of training facilities", "teamwork and collaboration", and "role and responsibilities", and suggested that these may take into account the development of IPE programme with clinical training. The purpose of this study was to examine the professional identity acquisition process (PIAP) model in IPE using structural equation modelling (SEM). Overall, 1,581 respondents of a possible 1,809 students from the departments of nursing, laboratory sciences, physical therapy, and occupational therapy completed the questionnaire. The SEM technique was utilised to construct a PIAP model on the relationships among four factors. The original PIAP model showed that "professional identity" was predicted by two factors, namely "role and responsibilities" and "teamwork and collaboration". These two factors were predicted by the factor "structure and function of training facilities". The same structure was observed in nursing and physical therapy students' PIAP models, but it was not completely the same in laboratory sciences and occupational therapy students' PIAP models. A parallel but not isolated curriculum on expertise unique to the profession, which may help to understand their professional identity in combination with learning the collaboration, may be necessary.

Repeated cross-sectional study of the longitudinal changes in attitudes toward interprofessional health care teams amongst undergraduate students.

The interprofessional education (IPE) program at Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan, uses a lecture style for first-year students and a training style for third-year students. To investigate the comprehensive implications of IPE, the change pattern of attitudes toward health care teams was examined longitudinally in pre-qualified students. The modified Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (mATHCTS) was used. The overall mean score of the mATHCTS improved significantly after the training-style IPE in their third year. Two individual items in the factor "quality of care delivery" decreased significantly during the first year. In contrast, two individual items in the factor "patient-centered care" increased significantly during the third year. These changes over time were confirmed by analyses using regression factor scores. There are at least two independent attitudes toward collaborative practice (CP) or IPE in response to IPE interventions: the attitude toward "value of IPE for health care providers" may response negatively to IPE in the early stages, and the attitude toward "value of IPE for health care receivers" positively in the later stages. These findings suggest that the continuation of mandatory IPE, which must be designed on the basis of students' high expectations for IPE and CP on entry, may result in profound changes in attitudes amongst participating students.

Attitudes toward interprofessional healthcare teams: a comparison between undergraduate students and alumni.

The goal of effective interprofessional education (IPE) is high-quality patient-care delivery and attaining a high level of patient satisfaction in clinical settings. We aimed to examine if alumni who have studied in an IPE program at a pre-licensure stage maintain a positive attitude toward collaborative practice (CP) in the postgraduate clinical experience. This paper presents a cross-sectional descriptive study which employed the modified attitudes toward health care teams scale (ATHCTS) to examine the relationship between exposure to clinical practice and the attitudes toward interprofessional healthcare teams. Results indicated that the overall mean score of alumni was significantly lower than that of undergraduate students on the modified ATHCTS. Only "team efficacy" had a significantly lower regression factor score in alumni than undergraduate students. Our findings suggest that changes in professional identity in a team may be due to contact with patients after graduation in the postgraduate clinical healthcare experience. The reduction of attitudes toward healthcare teams in the postgraduate clinical experience may be related to "team efficacy". We emphasize the need for in-service IPE for sustaining attitudes and providing a useful CP, which results in good clinical outcome.