RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Interprofessional student hotspotting involves experiential and longitudinal learning about team-based care for patients with complex medical and social needs. As an emerging strategy for interprofessional education, there have been few research studies to examine student perspectives. PURPOSE: This study used a descriptive qualitative approach to examine the experiences and perspectives of health professions students who participated in a six-month interprofessional student hotspotting program. METHODS: At the end of the program, focus group interviews were conducted with 24 health professions students from medicine, social work, pharmacy, nursing, and health psychology. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed four themes: Observed benefits of interprofessional collaboration; Gained skills for collaborative care; Experienced difficulty managing group dynamics; and Learned approaches to caring for complex patients. CONCLUSION: The hotspotting program helped deepen students' appreciation for interprofessional team-based care. Repeated practice of teamwork skills during the six-month clinical learning experience resulted in students feeling more prepared to provide collaborative care for complex patients.