Medical and Dental Students' Perceptions and Attitudes towards Interprofessional Clinical Education.

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Purpose: Interest and expansion of interprofessional education (IPE) has increased tremendously over the last decade due to need and regulatory requirements. Methods: Third-year medical students and third and fourth-year dental students participated in a combined IPE experience at a dental assessment clinic. All participating students completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) Questionnaire before the session, and medical students completed an evaluation after the session. Results: All students agreed that IPE is important and needed for the development of skills, and they see benefit to shared learning. The only RIPLS question in which students did not agree was "Clinical problem solving can only be learnt effectively with students/ professionals from own school/organization." The dental students agreed with this more than medical students (p=0.04). Age of medical and dental students was related with outcomes of RIPLS questions 2, 7, 14, and 16 (p=0.03, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively). Older participants from both schools tended not to agree with statements related to importance of working together benefiting patients, improving working relationships, welcoming the opportunity to work on small group projects with other health/social care students, and whether shared learning/practice will help clarify the nature of patients' problems. Medical student evaluations of the dental IPE experience were very positive, and mild changes in the curriculum improved medical student perception of the experience from year 1 to 2. Conclusion: Guidelines and standardized curricula could help medical and dental school faculty create clinically appropriate and effective IPE interactions for learners of all ages.