Abstract
BackgroundOver the past decades, the health sector in general has increasingly acknowledged the effectiveness of interprofessional clinical training in enhancing teamwork. In psychiatry, however, knowledge of the benefits of collaborative clinical training is sparse. This study aimed to investigate the impact of interprofessional training on students’ readiness for interprofessional collaboration in a psychiatric ward.MethodsAn intervention study assessed interprofessional clinical training in a training ward. Undergraduate students from the disciplines of medicine, nursing, psychotherapy, pedagogy, and social work were allocated either to an intervention group receiving interprofessional training or to a comparison group receiving conventional clinical training. Outcomes were assessed using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS). Linear mixed regression was used to compare differences in mean scores postintervention, adjusted for baseline score, gender, and profession.ResultsMean postintervention scores were higher in the intervention group (n = 87) than in the comparison group (n = 108) for both scales (overall sum score). For the RIPLS, the mean difference was 2.99 (95% CI 0.82 to 5.16; p = 0.007); for the AITCS it was 8.11 (95% CI 2.92–13.30; p = 0.002). Improvement in readiness for interprofessional learning and team collaboration in the intervention group remained statistically significant after adjustment for baseline differences between the two groups.ConclusionStudents’ self-reported readiness for interprofessional learning and their team collaboration were improved after interprofessional clinical training. Still, further studies of both the processes and the long-term effects of undergraduate IPE in mental healthcare are needed. The study was registered March 62,017 on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03070977 (Retrospectively registrered).
Highlights
Over the past decades, the health sector in general has increasingly acknowledged the effectiveness of interprofessional clinical training in enhancing teamwork
Acknowledging the difficulties involved in achieving interprofessional collaboration, World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the fostering of Interprofessional education (IPE) begin at undergraduate level [6]
A total of 87 students were allocated to the intervention group, with 108 in the comparison group
Summary
The health sector in general has increasingly acknowledged the effectiveness of interprofessional clinical training in enhancing teamwork. Many professionals working in mental healthcare have insufficient skills to participate effectively in interprofessional teamwork [1], and collaboration among team members continues to pose a challenge [1,2,3,4]. Various IPE initiatives for undergraduates have been described, some of which have taken place in clinical settings where students from different healthcare professions work together [10,11,12,13]. Marcussen et al.’s (2018) systematic review of the effects of undergraduate IPE in mental health practice found only eight studies qualifying for inclusion [17]. Given the positive results gained in other specialties, we set out to investigate whether similar results could be achieved in psychiatric wards
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