Health professional students’ emotional responses to effective and ineffective teamwork

Abstract

Introduction: Pre-registration students learn interprofessional competencies for effective teamwork through interprofessional education (IPE), yet they do not always see effective teamwork in the clinical workplace or experience it in IPE learning activities. In this study, we explored: (1) what students recall of experiences of interprofessional teamwork interactions in workplace settings or in IPE learning activities and (2) what and how they describe the emotion attached to these experiences. Methods: A pre- and post-test survey design was used, which included qualitative questions administered before and after a clinical workplace-based cancer and life-limiting illness IPE activity for two cohorts of students. We surveyed students about teamwork experiences in both workplace and IPE learning activities and how they felt about them emotionally. A content and thematic analysis was undertaken, the latter using a process adapted from Attride-Stirling (2001). Results: For the before-IPE responses, 31 out of 50 students in the two cohorts responded (62%), and for the after-IPE responses, 29 out of 50 in the two cohorts responded (58%). There were two global themes: (1) students readily recognise both effective and ineffective teamwork and (2) ineffective teamwork experiences can evoke strong emotional responses. Conclusion: Students’ emotional responses from being involved in or observing effective and ineffective teamwork may influence their future engagement in interprofessional teamwork and IPE activities.