Incorporating Nurse-Midwifery Students into Graduate Medical Education: Lessons Learned in Interprofessional Education.

Abstract

There is a current emphasis on interprofessional education in health care with the aim to improve teamwork and ultimately the quality and safety of care. As part of a Health Resources and Services Administration Advanced Nursing Education project, an interprofessional faculty and student team planned and implemented the first didactic coursework for nurse-midwifery and medical students at the University of California, San Francisco and responded to formative feedback in order to create a more meaningful educational experience for future combined cohorts. This article describes the process of including advanced nurse-midwifery students into 2 classes previously offered solely to medical students: 1) an elective in which students are matched with a pregnant woman to observe care that she receives before, during, and after giving birth; and 2) a required course on basic clinical care across the human lifespan. The development of these interprofessional courses, obstacles to success, feedback from students, and responses to course evaluations are reviewed. Themes identified in student course evaluations included uncertainty about interprofessional roles, disparity in clinical knowledge among learners, scheduling difficulties, and desire for more interprofessional education opportunities and additional time for facilitated interprofessional discussion. As a result of this feedback, more class time was designated for interprofessional exchange; less experienced rather than advanced midwifery students were included in both classes; and more interdisciplinary panel presentations were provided, along with clearer communication about student and clinician roles. Early project activities indicated nurse-midwifery students can be effectively included in existing medical student courses with revised curriculum and highlighted challenges that should be considered in the planning phase of similar projects in the future. This article is part of a special series of articles that address midwifery innovations in clinical practice, education, interprofessional collaboration, health policy, and global health.