An interprofessional education workshop focusing on pain management and prescription opioid abuse

Abstract

Abstract Interprofessional education (IPE) provides an opportunity to explore health professionals' contributions to pain management and to develop students' competencies in interprofessional (IP) collaborative practice. The purpose of this IPE workshop was to measure students' knowledge gains and changes in perceptions of core competencies for IP collaborative practice. The objectives for the workshop were that students would be able to: 1) Identify roles of healthcare team members in pain management, 2) Describe means of effective communication with the pain management healthcare team members, 3) Describe two pharmacological and two non-pharmacological interventions for pain management to decrease the use of opioids and 4) Reflect on the core competencies for IP collaborative practice. This IPE workshop on pain management and opioid abuse included a keynote speaker, an interprofessional panel and a patient case study. This format provided a comprehensive learning experience in a reasonable amount of time and was logistically feasible for health care professional students at one university.Demographic questions and the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS) post-workshop surveys. The IPAS was modified to decrease response bias by removing the five subscale headings and reordering the questions. The post-survey also had three questions to measure achievement of workshop objectives. Scores for the core competencies of Teamwork, Roles and Responsibilities and Community- Centeredness demonstrated statistically significant increases. Post-survey analysis revealed a statistically significant difference by gender (females higher than males) on Teamwork, Roles and Responsibilities. Following the workshop students and faculty participants were emailed an online evaluation. The participants were asked to rate the effectiveness of the workshop: 1) components (keynote speaker, panel discussion and case study), 2) in helping participants to develop competence in IPE, and 3) as a learning experience. The effectiveness of the workshop in all three of these areas was rated as good to excellent by a majority of respondents. This IPE workshop format was effective and could be replicated to develop healthcare professional students’ knowledge of interprofessional pain management and to develop the core competencies of collaborative practice.