Undergraduate Social Work Students' Participation in an Interprofessional Group Project

Abstract

Interprofessional education is being used in many professional programs to help students develop interprofessional collaboration skills. This article examines baccalaureate social work students' participation in an interprofessional group project. Students worked in assigned interprofessional teams to research and report on a designated health-care profession. The project was developed by faculty members in other disciplines to meet their accreditation standards. Students' perceptions before and after the project were measured using a modified Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Results indicated that social work students benefited from participating in the project. They reported improved understanding of the role of other professions in teams and, more important, social work students had the largest increase in their perceived importance of learning communication skills with students from other health-care disciplines. Results are discussed in light of the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards competencies related to interprofessional practice.