Position paper of the GMA Committee Interprofessional Education in the Health Professions - current status and outlook.

In the wake of local initiatives and developmental funding programs, interprofessionality is now included in national curricula in the German-speaking countries. Based on the 3P model (presage, process, product), this position paper presents the development of interprofessional education in recent years in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and places it in an international context. Core aspects as legal frameworks, including amendments to occupational regulations as well as the formation of networks and faculty development are basic requirements for interprofessional education. New topics and educational settings take shape in the process of interprofessional education: patient perspectives and teaching formats, such as online courses, become more important or are newly established. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on interprofessional education is explored as well. Among many new interprofessional courses, particularly the implementation of interprofessional training wards in Germany and Switzerland are positive examples of successful interprofessional education. The objective of interprofessional education continues to be the acquisition of interprofessional competencies. The main focus is now centered on evaluating this educational format and testing for the corresponding competencies. In the future, more capacities will be required for interprofessional continuing education and post-graduate education. Structured research programs are essential to ascertain the effects of interprofessional education in the German-speaking countries. In this position paper the GMA committee on interprofessional education encourages further advancement of this topic and expresses the aim to continue cooperating with other networks to strengthen and intensify interprofessional education and collaboration in healthcare.

Case vignettes for simulated patients based on real patient experiences in the context of OSCE examinations: workshop experiences from interprofessional education.

Background: Patient-centredness (PCN) is an increasingly demanded objective in health care and has gained importance for the care situation, for research, and the education of healthcare professions. The literature shows that the term PCN is not uniformly defined. Key aspects for the concept of PCN can be found in the integrative model and its dimensions by Scholl and colleagues (2014), which are incorporated into the acquisition of competencies in Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) examination formats. The inclusion of subjective experiences of persons directly affected in health-related situations is recognized as an important factor for continuous improvement in health care. In the interprofessional education of healthcare professions, subjective experiences serve as a starting point in relation to OSCE exams. In this context, the project "DIPEx" "Database of Individual Patients' Experiences" stands for the systematic collection and evaluation of subjective experiences of illness using scientific methods. Aim: The aim of this interprofessional training workshop was to show how PCN can support the writing of case vignettes based on real experiences from systematically collected narratives within the DIPEx project, as well as the preparation of simulation subjects for OSCE examinations in the healthcare professions. Methods: Interactive, moderated workshop with two theory-based input presentations on the systematic development of interprofessional case vignettes based on four steps, group work with synthesis in the form of statements, and a concluding outlook. Results: With regard to the aims of the workshop, the synthesis included results at two levels: exemplary results on aims not explicitly addressed: Interprofessional teaching is full of presuppositions and requires clarification of four different perspectives in advance to be included in case development;exemplary results on explicitly addressed aims: Listening to and incorporating the real-life experiences and narratives of persons directly affected in health-related situations and their families was seen as an important learning aspect for PCN in relation to the practitioner-patient relationship. Five key statements on explicit aims for case development involving PCN emerged from the group work. Conclusion: Competency-based interprofessional education of health professionals and PCN can benefit from real patient narratives of health and illness as simulated patients can portray roles in OSCE formats in a realistic and convincing manner.

Analysis of Six Reviews on the Quality of Instruments for the Evaluation of Interprofessional Education in German-Speaking Countries.

Background: More and more institutions worldwide and in German-speaking countries are developing and establishing interprofessional seminars in undergraduate education of health professions. In order to evaluate the different didactic approaches and different outcomes regarding the anticipated interprofessional competencies, it is necessary to apply appropriate instruments. Cross-cultural instruments are particularly helpful for international comparability. The Interprofessional Education working group of the German Medical Association (GMA) aims at identifying existing instruments for the evaluation of interprofessional education in order to make recommendations for German-speaking countries. Methods: Systematic literature research was performed on the websites of international interprofessional organisations (CAIPE, EIPEN, AIPEN), as well as in the PubMed and Cinahl databases. Reviews focusing on quantitative instruments to evaluate competencies according to the modified Kirkpatrick competency levels were searched for. Psychometrics, language/country and setting, in which the instrument was applied, were recorded. Results: Six reviews out of 73 literature research hits were included. A large number of instruments were identified; however, their psychometrics and the applied setting were very heterogeneous. The instruments can mainly be assigned to Kirkpatrick levels 1, 2a & 2b. Most instruments have been developed in English but their psychometrics were not always reported rigorously. Only very few instruments are available in German. Conclusion: It is difficult to find appropriate instruments in German. Internationally, there are different approaches and objectives in the measurement and evaluation of interprofessional competencies. The question arises whether it makes sense to translate existing instruments or to go through the lengthy process of developing new ones. The evaluation of interprofessional seminars with quantitative instruments remains mainly on Kirkpatrick levels 1 and 2. Levels 3 and 4 can probably only be assessed with qualitative or mixed methods. German language instruments are necessary.

The effects of anonymity on student ratings of teaching and course quality in a bachelor degree programme.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Are there any clear differences between the outcomes of anonymous and personalised student evaluations of teaching quality? METHODS: During a two-year period students were randomly divided into two separate groups, "anonymous" and "personalised", for end-of-module evaluations. The quality of the module was assessed using a standardised questionnaire. Additionally, students were given the option to add "further comments" if they wanted to highlight specifics. These optional comments were independently assessed by three people, using a five-dimensional rating instrument: positive/negative; differentiated/absolute; naming a person/general; containing an order/neutral; visually accentuated/blank. The database consisted of 615 evaluation forms, of which 306 were completed anonymously. In order to identify whether there were any differences between the anonymous and personalised data, a multivariate variance analysis was performed. Based on the scale, the answers to the questions and the quality of the comments were evaluated. Furthermore, an assessment was made to determine if there were any differences in the number of optional comments between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were identified in the informative quality of data between the anonymous and personalised student evaluations. However, students in the personalised group had a tendency to include more details in their written answers. CONCLUSION: Personalised evaluations do not generate more biased results in terms of social desirability, as long as the evaluation concept is characterised by a closed-circle process and is transparent. In other words, it is imperative that the outcomes of the evaluation are reported back to the students. Moreover, there has to be an opportunity for students to discuss any further suggestions and/or future desires in an open environment. In this way the students respect and understand that their feedback is being taken seriously; consequently, they feel able to provide a constructive and honest evaluation.

Defining clinical assessment standards for bachelor's-prepared nurses in Switzerland.

PURPOSE: A rigorous process of collaboration among multilingual and multicultural nursing faculties throughout Switzerland to define optimized learning goals for clinical assessment education at the bachelor's level is described in the context of wider European academic harmonization. Formation of a consensus-seeking panel proved a useful strategy for disseminating knowledge among academic nursing faculties in the early years of tertiary nursing education. The process enabled representatives of competing institutions to share scarce resources and articulate the added value of a bachelor's degree in nursing. CONCLUSIONS: A consensus-building strategy has applicability for nursing faculties wishing to increase collaboration, efficiency, and effectiveness early in the process of academic nursing development. Lack of availability of learning materials written in the languages of the local clinical setting is a barrier to teaching advanced assessment skills. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clinical assessment education that teaches a systematic approach to data collection, analysis, and reporting is central to producing excellent clinical professionals.