Abstract
BackgroundEducators who train healthcare students to provide behavioral health services in primary care settings frequently encounter challenges as they work to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills to effectively function on interprofessional practice teams. This has become increasingly important during COVID-19, as interprofessional collaborative practice is needed more than ever to address the interrelated health, mental health, and social structural issues linked to the pandemic.MethodsWe used qualitative focus groups to understand the experiences of 6 interprofessional teams (comprised of graduate social work, nursing, and rehabilitation counseling students; n = 19) providing behavioral health services in primary care settings before and after the immediate start of COVID-19. To triangulate data and enrich findings, one focus group with students’ faculty supervisors was also conducted; n = 5). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsFour themes highlighted student participants’ need to assert themselves at the beginning of their educational experience, to communicate and learn from one another to develop positive team dynamics, to contend with role confusion and missed opportunities for collaboration, and to manage the emotional impact of COVID-19 on learning.ConclusionFindings indicate that educators should work with clinical faculty and agency supervisors to orient students to ensure they have role clarity within the agency. Graduate students providing behavioral health services should also learn to work collaboratively within their scopes of practice to serve patients virtually, especially in preparation for public health emergencies.
Highlights
Educators who train healthcare students to provide behavioral health services in primary care settings frequently encounter challenges as they work to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills to effectively function on interprofessional practice teams
Such an examination is especially warranted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP) has been considered essential for addressing the interrelated health, mental health, and social structural conditions linked to the pandemic and magnified by its protracted nature [9,10,11]
Participants reported gaining a beginning level of knowledge and skill when it came to engaging in ICP in the primary care setting, in addition to improving their ability to assess, diagnose, and provide short-term psychosocial interventions to clients dealing with mental health issues
Summary
Educators who train healthcare students to provide behavioral health services in primary care settings frequently encounter challenges as they work to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills to effectively function on interprofessional practice teams This has become increasingly important during COVID-19, as interprofessional collaborative practice is needed more than ever to address the interrelated health, mental health, and social structural issues linked to the pandemic. Organizations tend to vary in their level of integration [8] (i.e., some are fully integrated while others may only be just beginning the integration process), indicating that there is a strong need to understand how this impacts interprofessional learning as well as healthcare service delivery Such an examination is especially warranted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as ICP has been considered essential for addressing the interrelated health, mental health, and social structural conditions linked to the pandemic and magnified by its protracted nature [9,10,11]
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