Abstract
BackgroundTo ensure high quality patient care an effective interprofessional collaboration between healthcare professionals is required. Interprofessional education (IPE) has a positive impact on team work in daily health care practice. Nevertheless, there are various challenges for sustainable implementation of IPE. To identify enablers and barriers of IPE for medical and nursing students as well as to specify impacts of IPE for both professions, the ‘Cooperative academical regional evidence-based Nursing Study in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’ (Care-N Study M-V) was conducted. The aim is to explore, how IPE has to be designed and implemented in medical and nursing training programs to optimize students’ impact for IPC.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted using the Delphi method and included 25 experts. Experts were selected by following inclusion criteria: (a) ability to answer every research question, one question particularly competent, (b) interdisciplinarity, (c) sustainability and (d) status. They were purposely sampled. Recruitment was based on existing collaborations and a web based search.ResultsThe experts find more enablers than barriers for IPE between medical and nursing students. Four primary arguments for IPE were mentioned: (1) development and promotion of interprofessional thinking and acting, (2) acquirement of shared knowledge, (3) promotion of beneficial information and knowledge exchange, and (4) promotion of mutual understanding. Major barriers of IPE are the coordination and harmonization of the curricula of the two professions. With respect to the effects of IPE for IPC, experts mentioned possible improvements on (a) patient level and (b) professional level. Experts expect an improved patient-centered care based on better mutual understanding and coordinated cooperation in interprofessional health care teams. To sustainably implement IPE for medical and nursing students, IPE needs endorsement by both, medical and nursing faculties.ConclusionIn conclusion, IPE promotes interprofessional cooperation between the medical and the nursing profession. Skills in interprofessional communication and roles understanding will be primary preconditions to improve collaborative patient-centered care. The impact of IPE for patients and caregivers as well as for both professions now needs to be more specifically analysed in prospective intervention studies.
Highlights
To ensure high quality patient care an effective interprofessional collaboration between healthcare professionals is required
Previous studies have proven that students trained in an Interprofessional education (IPE) approach have better interprofessional collaborative practice competencies compared to students without an IPE-training [8, 15, 17]
Most existing IPE courses are optional and only a few of them are sustainably implemented in the curricula of the health care professionals involved
Summary
To ensure high quality patient care an effective interprofessional collaboration between healthcare professionals is required. Interprofessional education (IPE), whereby students from several healthcare professions learn and work together [3, 4], has shown a positive impact on team work in daily health care practice [5] and is recommended for training programs of healthcare professionals [6,7,8]. Previous studies have proven that students trained in an IPE approach have better interprofessional collaborative practice competencies compared to students without an IPE-training [8, 15, 17] This can be attributed to students’ more positive attitudes towards each other, a better understanding about each other’s competencies, the ability to share knowledge and skills, and improved team identity [10, 13, 17]. Most existing IPE courses are optional and only a few of them are sustainably implemented in the curricula of the health care professionals involved
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