Interprofessional Experience for Future Education Professionals: School Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology Students

Shari Deveney,Brian Mckevitt

doi:10.30707/tlcsd5.1.1624982519.476871

Abstract

Educational training programs are tasked with addressing potential barriers to interprofessional practice through experiences that promote interprofessional collaborations. The present study of interprofessional experiences (IPE) had both research and pedagogical purposes. The research purpose was to describe graduate student self-perceptions related to interprofessional teaming/collaboration before and after an IPE involving two educational training programs, school psychology and speech-language pathology. The pedagogical purpose was to convey a detailed description of a case-based IPE offered as a course assignment and offer implementation suggestions. Participants in this course-based IPE were 109 students in the school psychology and speech-language pathology graduate programs at a medium-sized midwestern university over a four-year period. Students in both programs engaged in the IPE as part of a graded class assignment involving case studies. Pre- and post-IPE surveys were used to determine changes in students’ perceptions of their own profession and training, others’ professions, and collaboration and teaming. Results indicated that the perception of students from both programs significantly improved following the IPE. Improved perceptions of collaboration, teaming, and one another’s professions were sustained over four years of implementation. Implications for research, practice, and training are discussed.

Highlights

Part of the Higher Education Commons, School Psychology Commons, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons
Descriptive data for the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and modified Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) for the total sample are provided in Tables 1 and 2, respectively
An increase in item scores was noted for every item on the IEPS, and for 9 out of 10 items on the modified SPICE-R

Summary

Introduction

Part of the Higher Education Commons, School Psychology Commons, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons. To align student engagement in IPE with future IPP benefits, four core competencies were outlined by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) in 2016. These included: competencies involving values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork (IPEC, 2016). The core competencies encourage working with individuals in other professions to (1) promote a climate of trust, respect, and shared values, (2) demonstrate an understanding of differing roles and responsibilities and use this knowledge to advance patient/client care, (3) communicate appropriately with clients and their caregivers about prevention, assessment, and treatment issues, and (4) foster a team approach for planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and policies affecting client care (IPEC, 2016).

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion