Psychology Student Experience of a Brief, Interprofessional Team Training

Abstract

Healthcare providers, including psychologists who work as health service providers and with older adults, must be able to work effectively with professionals from other disciplines. Interprofessional education (IPE) engages students from two or more professions to learn collaboratively. To date, only a few studies have examined psychology student involvement in IPE. This article describes the experience of clinical psychology (Psy.D.) doctoral students ( N = 59) who attended a brief, interprofessional (IP) team training. Results of paired-samples t-tests suggest that there was an increase in self-reported positive attitudes about healthcare teams and skills related to working in IP teams from pretest to posttest. Hence, the training may facilitate the development of attitudes necessary for interprofessional competency and provide an opportunity to practice skills central to IP collaboration and team work which are essential for psychologists working in today’s healthcare environment. This experience may serve as a model for psychology programs seeking to expose students to brief, IP, team-based learning.