Abstract
Qualified and competent healthcare professionals working in a collaborative team environment is a prerequisite for high quality patient care. In order to be successful in the healthcare working environment, medical students need to be exposed to interprofessional learning early in their education. A single stage online survey was administered to medical students to evaluate their attitudes and perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and whether prior exposure to IPE increased their appreciation for interprofessional collaboration. The results suggest that irrespective of prior exposure to IPE, medical students appreciated the importance of interprofessional education and collaboration. Medical students showed a strong interest in attending interprofessional courses in other disciplines. Time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and communication emerged as barriers to IPE. Medical students embraced IPE and welcomed the opportunity to learn with other disciplines. Clinical case studies and simulations were identified as potential methods to integrate with other healthcare disciplines. The positive attitude and perceptions of the medical students toward interprofessional education and collaboration warrants the inclusion of related courses in medical curricula, as this may further increase students’ potentials in becoming effective healthcare providers.
Highlights
Interprofessional Education (IPE), an essential pedagogical approach in healthcare education, is deemed crucial in equipping healthcare professionals to deliver safe, high quality, and optimal patient care [1]
The results demonstrated that medical students had a less positive attitude toward IPE compared to nursing and physician assistant (PA) students
The results of our study suggest that irrespective of prior exposure to IPE, medical students appreciated the importance of IPE and interprofessional collaboration (IPC)
Summary
Interprofessional Education (IPE), an essential pedagogical approach in healthcare education, is deemed crucial in equipping healthcare professionals to deliver safe, high quality, and optimal patient care [1]. IPE is the engagement of two or more healthcare professions in an integrated learning environment in an effort to foster collaboration and improve health [2]. IPE fosters interprofessional collaboration (IPC), which is often recognized for nurturing a collaborative team approach, resulting in an improved quality of patient care, decreased length of hospital stay, reduced costs of care, and fewer. A systematic review by Reeves et al [4] showed improved patient outcomes, better clinical processes, and enhanced patient satisfaction when IPC is utilized. Wheelan et al [5] noted that improved healthcare outcomes for intensive care unit patients is dependent upon teamwork and collaboration among healthcare providers. Asmirajanti et al [7] reviewed clinical care pathways with
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