Effects of an Interdisciplinary Volunteer Experience on Students’ Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward the Health Care Team

Abstract

To assess the effect of an interdisciplinary, volunteer clinical experience completed by physician assistant (PA), pharmacy, and nursing students and whether the experience will change students' knowledge of, or attitudes toward, a team approach to health care. Surveys were conducted before and after the project using a 5-point Likert scale that measured the impact of the project on a nonrandom sample of PA, pharmacy, and nursing students who completed a minimum of four hours of service at Head Start preschool sites in southern New Hampshire. Students were recruited through email announcements and a lunchtime information session describing the program. Presurveys were completed using Blackboard before the student's scheduled participation day. Postsurveys were completed onsite at the end of the volunteer time. Surveys were blinded using a number and letter code. Students' knowledge (survey questions 1-4) and attitudes (survey questions 5-7) toward the health care team were evaluated in several areas including the importance of working in a team, knowledge level of other team members, awareness of community agencies as part of the team, and the importance of communication within the health care team. Paired t-tests were used to determine whether significant changes occurred in attitudes or knowledge as a result of the interdisciplinary volunteer experience. Approval of the study protocol was granted by the college's institutional review board. Statistically significant increases were noted in awareness of community resources, understanding of the strengths and skills of other members of the health care team, and experiences in working with other disciplines. Student attitudes toward a team approach to health care did not significantly change as a result of this experience. Enabling students to interact with other disciplines and to provide care to patients significantly increased students' awareness of community resources as well as their understanding of the strengths and skills of other members of the health care team. Students also gained experience working in a health care team. This demonstrates that a volunteer experience involving interdisciplinary collaboration can be used to enhance students' knowledge of the health care team.