Development of the Greifswald questionnaire for the measurement of interprofessional attitudes.

Introduction: The implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) could be a potential approach to dealing with increasing complexity in health care. And thus, encouraging interprofessional collaborations to minimize errors in patient care. However, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of IPE is inconclusive. One reason for this is a lack of valid and reliable evaluation instruments. This study aims to illustrate the first steps of the development and validation of a German evaluation instrument for the measurement of interprofessional attitudes. Methods: To achieve high psychometric quality, we first selected relevant attitude dimensions and specified criteria for the wording of the items. The a priori developed factor structure was evaluated via factor analysis and the internal consistencies of the scales were analysed in a sample of medical students and nursing trainees, both participants of an IPE course (n=338). Stability was evaluated in an additional sample of nursing trainees (n=14). Results: The Factor analysis revealed three dimensions. Whereby, the two factors "Relevance of learning interprofessional communicational techniques" (German: Wichtigkeit Techniken interprofessioneller Kommunikation zu lernen) (α=.85) and "Doubts, dismissal and perceived barriers" (German: Zweifel, Ablehnung und wahrgenommene Barrieren) (α=.73) revealed good to acceptable internal consistency. Third-factor "Attitude towards another profession" (German: Einstellung zur anderen Berufsgruppe) (α=.62) remained below a desired internal consistency of α>.70. Factors "Doubts, dismissal and perceived barriers", as well as "Attitude towards another profession" showed sufficient stability for pre-/post-measurements. Discussion: The Greifswald Questionnaire for the Measurement of Interprofessional Attitudes is the first version of a three-dimensional tool to evaluate IPE in German-speaking countries. Results showed insufficient item difficulty in the tested sample, which resulted in an insufficient internal consistency, and retest reliability for some factors. Further studies are required to investigate item difficulty, internal consistency and retest reliability in a postgraduate sample.

Heterogeneous learning cultures in interprofessional education: a teacher training.

Aim: Due to the political demand for the integration of interprofessional (IP) learning into the undergraduate education of health professionals, teachers now have to create and perform IP courses. The IP and thus heterogeneous learning groups pose a special challenge. The presented project aimed at designing a workshop training to support teachers to reflect on heterogeneous learning cultures and to prepare for IP teaching. Methods: The workshop concept was developed in using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and included planning, several rounds of testing and the evaluation of the concept. All planning steps in the development of the workshop concept followed the principles of cooperative learning. The concept evolved in an iterative process based on participants' feedback and facilitators' self-reflection. Results: The resulting workshop concept includes theoretical input as well as discussion, teamwork and participants' self-reflection. The workshop's core element is the work assignment to develop an IP teaching session considering different learning cultures. Work results and experiences are discussed with the entire group and required skills of IP teachers are identified. Conclusion: The subjective feedback of participants regarding their satisfaction and knowledge gained indicates that the workshop concept is well received. The joint planning of an IP teaching session highlights particularities resulting from heterogeneous learning cultures. These should be utilized in IP education to better prepare learners for IP cooperation in the workplace.

Integrating cross-border emergency medicine systems: Securing future preclinical medical workforce for remote medical services.

The European Union intends to enable its citizens to interact across borders in relevant areas of society and culture to further integrate neighboring regions. Medicine has not been at the core of recent EU-funded efforts in central Europe, partially due to significant differences in health care administration, delivery, reimbursement, and culture. However, impeding changes in social structure and centralization of specialized care warrant changes in preclinical administration of medical care, which are already transforming practices across developed countries in central Europe. Moreover, demographic and social changes are transforming not only patients but also health care providers, thus leading to an increased need for specialized medical personnel, particularly in regions close to formerly secluding borders. The EU-funded cooperation project presented in this article is located in the Euroregion Pomerania, which consists of northeastern Germany and northwestern Poland. This project emerged because of the need to solve practical emergency medicine-related problems for many years, which brought partners together. Unfortunately, administrative and medical interaction has not become significantly easier with Poland joining the Schengen area in 2007 and, subsequently, initial international contracts regarding, among other things, emergency medicine being negotiated and signed thereafter. Three different interdependent areas of cooperation within the project deal with key aspects of an improved and eventually integrated cooperation. An accepted clarification of administrative and legal foundations - or the lack and thus the need thereof - needs to be defined. Specialized language and simulation-based education and practice sessions employing modern technology throughout will be introduced to the entire region. Finally, the pre-existing and developing acceptance and sustainability aspects of personnel involved in the aforementioned actions and stakeholders on both sides of the border will be evaluated. In essence, the project focuses on a multimodal improvement of professional cooperation of key providers of emergency medicine services in the Euroregion Pomerania. Thereby, it aims to improve infrastructure; interpersonal and professional skills of involved personnel, administrative, and cultural relations; and eventually identification of specialized personnel with their workplace and region to secure and retain important medical workforce in an otherwise remote area on both sides of a formerly secluded border.

Interprofessional Learning - Development and Implementation of Joint Medical Emergency Team Trainings for Medical and Nursing Students at Universitätsmedizin Greifswald.

INTRODUCTION: Interprofessional collaboration is of great importance in clinical practice, particularly in the field of emergency medicine. The professions involved in providing emergency care must work hand in hand, and tasks and routines must be coordinated effectively. However, medical and nursing students have only few opportunities to experience interprofessional cooperation during their formal training. Addressing this situation, the Department of Anesthesiology and the Vocational School of Greifswald University Medical School initiated a project to increase patient safety by integrating interprofessional human factor training into the curriculum of both health professions. This manuscript addresses how an interprofessional course module focusing on clinical emergency medicine can be taught with an emphasis on competency and problem-solving. In addition, it was important to identify suitable instruments for systematic quality development and assurance of this teaching and learning format. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The aim of the project, which took place from October 2013 to September 2015, was the development, implementation and evaluation of a simulation-based, interprofessional course module on clinical emergency medicine. Target groups were medical and nursing students. Modern pedagogical models and methods were applied to the design and teaching of the course content. The project was carried out in separate phases: definition, planning, practical implementation, evaluation and documentation. The project was accompanied by systematic quality development. Established guidelines for quality-centered school development were applied to quality development, assurance and evaluation. RESULTS: Over two years, a 16 credit-hour course module was developed and then taught and evaluated during the 2014 and 2015 summer semesters. A total of 120 medical students and 120 nursing students participated in the course module. Eighteen teachers from medicine and nursing were trained as instructors and assisted by 12 student tutors. Regular evaluations focused on different aspects of the project, using instruments for empirical educational research. Excellent ratings given to the course by the attendees indicate a high degree of satisfaction in both participating professions regarding course design and content, as well as the quality of teaching. DISCUSSION: In a position paper, the GMA committee on Interprofessional Education in Health Professions issued recommendations for interprofessional education. The recommendations given for teaching and quality assurance are drawn upon here, and relevant examples from the course concept presented. CONCLUSION: The design of the course corresponds to the recommendations of the GMA committee on Interprofessional Education in the Health Professions. Based on these, and considering the satisfactory evaluations, both continuation and further development of this interprofessional teaching format are justified.