Student outcomes from an interprofessional health promotions project

Abstract

Teams of three students from different health-care disciplines, including pharmacy, nursing, applied exercise and health, and nutrition science researched, designed and delivered health promotion education projects to community-based populations. The Interprofessional Health Promotions Project was designed to expose students to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies (2016) through a collaborative, interprofessional team-based experience. Students learned about, from, and with each other, while gaining and applying new healthcare knowledge. The students’ learning outcomes were derived from and mapped to the IPEC competencies. Students described successes, challenges, new knowledge learned, and perceived benefits to their audiences. The authors used a mixed methods approach to analyze four semesters of student data gathered through a post-experience questionnaire. Data was mapped within the context of interprofessional values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, communication, and teamwork. Ninety-two percent of students reported this experience as a valuable professional collaboration, and 90% believed they contributed useful, discipline-specific information. Students believed the most valuable benefit to their audience was their ability to provide multi-perspective educational expertise. Although this activity was completed face-to-face, it could be easily adapted for use in a virtual setting. All resources are included as tables or appendices.