The effects of demographics on physician assistant attitudes and openness towards interprofessional medical collaboration and education

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Interprofessional medical collaboration is an approach to patient care that involves multiple health care specialists from varying fields coming together to solve difficult medical cases. The World Health Organization has reported that interprofessional collaboration is a key factor for the development of high-quality global health care. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) is used to assess attitudes and openness towards interprofessional collaboration. This study aimed to assess the attitudes of physician assistants towards interprofessional collaboration and whether or not demographics affect attitudes and openness. Design and participants A modified RIPLS was used to evaluate 131 practicing physician assistants. Anonymous participants were able to access the questionnaire through SurveyMonkey during a six-month period in the Spring and Summer of 2017. Participants completed the RIPLS survey and answered demographic questions related to sex, age, and medical specialty field. Results Physician assistant scores reflected favorable attitudes and openness to interprofessional collaboration and education. There were no significant differences associated with any demographic category. Conclusions Results indicate that physician assistants have favorable attitudes and openness to interprofessional collaboration and education regardless of age, sex, or medical specialty field.