Interprofessional Education Sessions Research Articles

A Pilot Interprofessional Education Curriculum for Optimizing Mental Health in Chronic Pain Treatment and Understanding Interprofessional Practice.

With the urgent need for clinicians capable of responding to the opioid crisis, an interprofessional education (IPE) pilot curriculum was launched to assess trainee self-efficacy in managing chronic pain and mental health conditions, and attitudes toward interprofessional practice among resident physicians, family nurse practitioners (FNP), and physician assistant (PA) students. This study involved the implementation of a pilot curriculum consisting of five interactive IPE sessions. All invited trainees across two academic institutions were asked to complete the assessments. Self-efficacy in managing chronic pain and mental health was measured at baseline and following IPE training using a researcher-developed tool, while attitudes toward interprofessional practice were measured with the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams scale. Resident physicians were compared to FNP/PA students to examine differences between groups and within groups over time. The final analysis involved 25 trainees who attended at least one IPE training session and completed pre-session and post-session surveys. The total pre-session survey and post-session survey response rate was 37.5% (n=36). Self-efficacy in chronic pain management improved among the resident physician (mean=3.85 ±0.40) and FNP/PA groups (mean=3.84±0.46) (p=0.05 and p=0.001), respectively. Self-efficacy in mental health management was not significantly improved among resident physicians (mean=3.41±0.49, p=0.48), but improved among FNP/PA students (mean=3.46±0.31, p<0.001). There was no difference in attitudes toward interprofessional practice. While IPE training did not result in attitudinal changes toward interprofessional practice, it shows potential for improving self-efficacy in managing chronic pain and mental health, particularly among FNP/PA trainees. This study was limited by a small sample size of trainees included in the finalanalysis.

Interprofessional collaboration skills and motivation one year after an interprofessional educational intervention for undergraduate medical and nursing students

BackgroundThe increasingly complex patient care in the twenty-first century is delivered by interprofessional health care teams. Interprofessional collaboration can be taught during interprofessional education. However, whether a long-term change in collaborative competencies can be achieved by interprofessional education has not been studied sufficiently. Our research questions were: How does motivation for interprofessional collaboration and interprofessional collaborative skills change up to one year after an interprofessional educational intervention? How are they related to each other?MethodsDuring a one-year period, undergraduate medical and nursing students attended four interprofessional (intervention) or uniprofessional (control group) education sessions. Self-determination Theory was used as the theoretical framework. Autonomous and controlled motivation scores for interprofessional collaboration were calculated using the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire, before (T1), directly after (T2) and one year post-intervention (T3). At T3, the students also filled out the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS), which measured the perceived attainment of collaborative competencies by a retrospective pre-test/post-test design. We used linear mixed effects models to analyse the motivation scores and linear regression for the relation between motivation and competence.ResultsIn the interprofessional group, autonomous motivation scores of the participants were significantly lower at T2 vs. T1. Controlled motivation scores were significantly higher at T3 vs. T1. Controlled motivation scores for T2 were significantly higher in the uniprofessional group than in the interprofessional group. Perceived competence was related to higher autonomous motivation scores. At T3 the interprofessional collaborative competencies seemed to have grown more among students in the interprofessional group.ConclusionsThe perceived growth in interprofessional collaboration competence lasted at least up to one year after the intervention, and was measurable with the ICCAS. The growth was significantly more in the IPE students than in the UPE students. The few differences found in motivation scores for interprofessional collaboration were probably caused by an imbalance of nursing versus medical students over the different time points. This finding indicates that classroom based IPE can contribute to interprofessional collaboration skills of nursing and medical students at least up to one year after an intervention.

A single institution, cross-sectional study on medical student preferences for collaborators in interprofessional education

BackgroundWhile the importance of interprofessional education in medical training has been well-established, no specific framework has been used uniformly or shown to be most effective in the creation of interprofessional education (IPE) sessions. Further, prior studies have demonstrated that students have preferences for the design of these experiences. In this study, we sought to understand medical student preference for interprofessional teammates and motivations for this choice.MethodsIn this single-institution, cross-sectional analysis of the Duke IPE Clinic, participating students from September 2019–March 2020 completed a voluntary electronic survey that queried preferences for which health professions students (Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Pharmacy, and Physician’s Associate (PA)) they would want to work with, and the motivating reason. Preferences and reasons were compared between first-year medical students (MS1s) and third- and fourth-year medical students (MS3s/MS4s).ResultsIn total, 132 students participated. We found that MS1s most preferred interprofessional teammates with a more similar area of study (PA, NP), whereas MS3s/MS4s most preferred classmates with a less similar area of study (pharmacy, DPT, ABSN). MS1 students frequently selected their first-choice preference because the profession seemed most similar, while MS3/MS4 students often selected their first-choice preference because the profession seemed most different.ConclusionsMedical students earlier in training have more interest in working with professions they view as similar whereas senior students prefer to work with professions they view as more different. This information is important for designing educational IPE opportunities.

Barriers and Facilitators to Enhance Interprofessional Education for Rehabilitation Science Graduate Students

Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to develop healthcare practitioners who work effectively in teams, demonstrate strong communication skills, respect others, and have a working knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of other professionals. Of identified research to date, it is unclear what students perceive as important for effective IPE delivery and learning. The purpose of this study was to identify graduate students' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to learning interprofessional practice using phenomenology. Three semi-structured focus groups were conducted including athletic training, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology students and the transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged about IPE teaching methods and delivery: (1) addressing roles and responsibilities (2) student collaboration and communication (3) engaging with faculty and (4) enhancing realism and diversity of experiences. The themes suggested that IPE can either facilitate or create barriers for students when learning roles and responsibilities, collaborating, and communicating with fellow students, and engaging with faculty. Enhancing the realism and diversity of represented professionals were perceived as potential facilitators for future IPE sessions.

Interacting within an asynchronous online interprofessional education workshop focused on social determinants of health

BackgroundMeaningful interprofessional education (IPE) involves students from at least two professions interacting to learn with, about, and from one another. Our objective was to describe a novel online approach used to create meaningful IPE within a social determinants of health (SDoH) workshop. Interprofessional education activityThis online workshop integrated four different professions' perspectives on SDoH (social-work, public-health, nursing, and pharmacy). Each six-student interprofessional team was assigned a local neighborhood. This week-long workshop had numerous activities (pre- and post-workshop quizzes, a SDoH-primer video, video self-introduction to teammates, a windshield questionnaire with two subsequent clinical cases, a post-workshop reflection, and post-workshop evaluation). For discussion, asynchronous video-based responses were used instead of traditional text-based discussion-boards. DiscussionQuantitatively comparing quiz scores, students' SDoH knowledge increased with this workshop. Qualitatively from evaluations, most students found this workshop helpful and meaningful. Supporting use of video-based responses, many students' favorite aspect was interacting and collaborating within their interprofessional teams, although some students desired synchronous activities instead. Faculty facilitators confirmed that meaningful IPE interactions occurred. ImplicationsIn short, students from multiple health-professions learned SDoH-content and, using video-based responses, interacted asynchronously during this online workshop. This report demonstrated one tool available to help facilitate meaningful IPE asynchronously. This asynchronous, online IPE workshop appears to be a promising format to be integrated with other in-person IPE sessions.

A qualitative study to explore student learning and development of interprofessional collaboration during an online interprofessional education intervention

Interprofessional education (IPE) during undergraduate education and training has been found to improve collaboration between health care students. This supports interprofessional working in clinical practice to enhance patient safety and care delivery.Undergraduate students from pharmacy and medical programmes worked online in pairs to review notes of hospital patients due to be discharged. Students were tasked to complete a discharge letter and undertake an online consultation with a simulated patient prior to discharge. Online interactions were recorded and assessed using a validated tool to measure interprofessional professionalism. Students undertook this intervention in different pairings with different patient cases for three iterations after receiving feedback and undertaking a reflective exercise.The aim was to investigate the student learning and development that could be used to inform intervention optimisation and scale-up.Qualitative data were collected from different sources. Method triangulation was employed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the student learning and development. Data was collected from written feedback provided by the assessment team, student reflections on their performance, and from semi-structured interviews conducted with the student pairs and one to one with the assessment team. Content and thematic analysis was used to analyse these data and the Kirkpatrick/Barr evaluation model provided a framework to organise the themes.Eighteen students (nine from each professional programme) completed the study and a total of 27 IPE sessions were conducted. The assessment team completed 54 assessment tools and 31 student reflections were received (from a maximum of 36). Students were interviewed in their interprofessional pairs to yield nine interview transcripts and one interview was conducted with the assessment team.Students reported and were observed to improve in interprofessional collaboration over the three iterations following feedback and rehearsal opportunities. Longitudinal observation and assessment of student interprofessional working in changing teams provided the opportunity to capture the influence of interdependence on student performance and assessment of competence.

Longer-term outcomes of medicine and pharmacy students at Cardiff University after undergraduate therapeutics and prescribing interprofessional education

Background: Studies have reported students’ satisfaction with and learning from undergraduate interprofessional education (IPE). However, there is insufficient research reporting on any longer-term effects of IPE. The objective is to assess the longer-term impact of learning by 3rd/4th year medical and pharmacy students 12-24 months after a therapeutics/prescribing IPE session. Methods: Semi-structured interview transcriptions were explored inductively using thematical analysis, and deductively by using the Modified Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model. Exactly 34 interviews were conducted. Results: Inductively, six themes were identified: preparedness; students as learners and teachers; knowledge/skills development; application of learning; session value; and suggestions for change. Deductively, participants found the session enjoyable and interesting (level 1), had modified attitudes of peers (level 2a), acquired knowledge and skills (level 2b), and, those in employment, provided examples of behavioural change (level 3). No organisational change (level 4) or improved patient outcomes (level 5) were reported. Conclusion: Both medical and pharmacy participants were able to recall a therapeutic/prescribing IPE session that took place 12-24 months earlier. Participants emphasised the usefulness of interacting with peers, increasing their understanding of each others’ roles, improving communication skills and applying learning within practice. Those developing IPE should consider early consistent delivery, utilise multidisciplinary faculty members and ensure an appropriate student knowledge gap.

Visual thinking strategies for interprofessional education and promoting collaborative competencies.

Interprofessional education (IPE) curricula require approaches that address the needs of learners from multiple professions and levels of clinical experience. Frameworks based in the arts and humanities, which can improve learners' skills in collaborative competencies such as communication and team building, remain limited in IPE. We describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a visual arts-based IPE session for over 400 interprofessional learners. During the 90-min session held in 2021, an art museum educator first guided learners through observations of art works using the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) approach. Subsequently, small groups of six to eight interprofessional learners and two trained facilitators explored how their observations were influenced by personal and professional identities and made connections to interprofessional collaborative practice. Two hundred eleven of the 407 student attendees responded to the post-session survey (52%). Eighty percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that 'the art of observation activity is an effective means of starting discussions with interprofessional teams.' On the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey, a validated tool assessing changes in interprofessional collaboration-related competencies, there was a significant increase between pre- (M = 45.73, SD = 8.05, p < 0.001) and post-session scores (M = 51.46, SD = 7.97, p < 0.001), using a paired t-test analysis. Qualitative analysis of learners' takeaways identified themes of open-mindedness, hearing other opinions and perspectives, collaboration/teamwork, patient-centeredness and awareness of biases. Our curricular approach shows how integrating visual arts-based pedagogies into IPE activities with learners from diverse disciplines and clinical experiences is both feasible and helpful for developing collaborative competencies.

Can a simulated hospital interprofessional experience between allied health and nursing students change self-efficacy beliefs?

While literature supports the use of interprofessional education (IPE) and the use of simulated patient experiences for individual disciplines, there is limited literature on the use of (IPE) in a simulated patient experience to enhance self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a hospital simulation experience could change the students' self-efficacy to engage in interprofessional communication and collaboration. This single-group pre-test, post-test design study utilized student participants from the following health science programs: Occupational Therapy (38), Physical Therapy (37), and Nursing (18). The student participants assumed their designated roles as health-care practitioners collaboratively in a simulated hospital IPE session (SHIPES) while they managed patients admitted to the hospital played by live actors. The student participants completed the Self-Efficacy for Interprofessional Experiential Learning (SEIEL) questionnaire that consists of a total score and two subscales scores (Interprofessional interaction and Interprofessional team evaluation and feedback) before and after this IPE experience. Results: significant (p&lt;0.001) increase in the total and two subscales scores of the SEIEL indicating an increased student self-efficacy to engage in interprofessional learning after participation in the SHIPES. Increased self-efficacy is a positive indicator of future behavior and could facilitate more interprofessional collaboration in clinical settings.

An Interactive Online Interprofessional Opioid Education Training Using Standardized Patients.

Opioid pain management is complex and requires a collaborative approach. To prepare health professions students to care for patients who have chronic pain, we developed an interprofessional education (IPE) session for delivery using a virtual platform that featured a standardized patient (SP) interaction. The SP case highlighted a patient on opioids for chronic low back pain resulting from a car accident. Despite no improvement in pain or function, the patient continued taking opioids and developed behaviors that could represent opioid misuse. During the synchronous, online session, interprofessional teams of students interviewed an SP and collaborated to develop a holistic care plan to address the patient's pain and potential opioid misuse. The session evaluation included pre- and postsession surveys. Over 750 students from medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and social work programs participated in the virtual IPE sessions during a single year. Students rated the session positively. Matched survey responses suggested improved confidence in knowledge and skills, and learning through Zoom was rated favorably. We successfully implemented a synchronous online IPE session involving SP interactions that allowed students to practice team-based care of a patient with chronic pain who was taking opioids. Based on the success of this IPE session, including the success of the online delivery model, future IPE sessions will continue virtually.

Interprofessional Education Opportunities and Challenges for Public Health Students

Interprofessional education (IPE) in communities is often underrepresented in IPE initiatives, while, in practice, the need for collaboration is high enough. Interprofessional collaborative practice is challenging, especially for public health workers because some health professional education is unprofessional. Therefore, this brief review aims to comprehensively discuss the opportunities and challenges of public health students to perform interprofessional education. Study Review and data collection had been carried out within 2015-2020. Based on our review, IPE has a positive impact on students. Many students showed positive attitudes after participating in the Interprofessional Education session. Additionally, IPE is applicable for identifying benefits, challenges, and areas for modification when implementing and developing competencies. Managing interprofessional work team training is a major challenge. The approach to overcome these challenges can be realized by public health students by applying the basic skills and soft skills of public health workers, including a graphical model of public health. The model has four main tools, and particularly in the behavioral and social sciences, and health administration and policy will be a force to overcome the barriers to implementing IPE in the community. The results of the evaluation provide insight into the experiences of students, staff, facilitators, and their self-perception of competency development. Public health students perceive positively and believe that IPE can improve communication skills, collaboration, self-efficacy, readiness for interprofessional learning, and appreciation of professional roles. However, there is still a need for training modifications and expanding student roles that can improve understanding of primary health concepts and appreciation of interprofessional collaboration. This will increase students' potential to become effective healthcare providers.

Comparing Expectations: How Pharmacy Students View Physician Assistant and Medical Students.

The aim of this prospective, perception scale study was to evaluate pharmacy student expectations and perceptions of student medical providers before and after interprofessional education (IPE). Using pre- and postactivity surveys, the expectations and perceptions of 2 cohorts of third-year pharmacy students who worked with first-year physician assistant (PA) students and second-year medical (MD) students in an evidence-based, case-based IPE session were compared. Before engaging in the interprofessional activities, the pharmacy students' (N = 131) expectations were either similar for both student provider groups or greater for MD students. However, these expectations differed significantly from postactivity perceptions. After completion of the IPE experiences, when compared with MD students, PA students were perceived as having equal or greater knowledge of patient care (60.2 vs. 12%, P < .001), demonstrating equal or superior application of evidence-based practice (46.6 vs. 5.3%, P < .001), being equally or more collaborative (54.1 vs. 10.5%, P < .001), and being equally easy or easier to work with (69.9 vs. 10.5%, P < .001). The magnitude of shift in expectations and perceptions demonstrates the value of IPE and underscores the high caliber of PA educational standards.

Incorporating Interprofessional Education into a Required Introductory Pharmacy and Nursing Didactic Course

ObjectiveThe primary objective was to describe the pedagogical approach of conducting 2 Interprofessional Education (IPE) sessions focused on IPE Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies in a required pharmacy and nursing didactic course. The secondary objective was to use quantitative and qualitative methods to assess students’ self-reported IPE knowledge, skills, and attitudes after the IPE sessions. MethodsSessions consisted of active learning exercises with supplemental lectures, emphasizing students work together to find optimal solutions to both clinical and nonclinical problems. Time was allotted for debriefing and discussion. Students completed a post-session reflection with 6 guided questions to collect qualitative themes. Participants also completed the W(e) Learn Interprofessional Program Assessment Scale, a survey designed to assess student perceptions of the interprofessional sessions. We used t tests for comparing scores among relevant subgroups. ResultsFrom 2017–2019, 263 students attended 2 annual IPE sessions in a required, introductory course. Small group didactic activities with faculty-led debriefing were included in each session. A total of 111 students fully completed the scale and average scores were high (Mean = 197.5, SD = 15.96). Thematic analysis of reflections revealed that students recognized teamwork, mutual respect, effective communication, and understanding the roles and responsibilities of the interprofessional team helped improve patient care. ConclusionIncluding joint IPE sessions in a foundational didactic course was a feasible and successful IPE component. Sessions provided students with experience practicing foundational skills for interprofessional communication and teamwork. Students reported high satisfaction and valued the sessions, as indicated by quantitative surveys and qualitative themes.

How Do Classroom-Based Interprofessional Education Interactions Influence Medical Students' Clerkship Experiences?

Classroom-based interprofessional education (IPE) has been shown to improve medical students' understanding of IPE competencies, but less is known about how those skills apply in clinical environments. This study assesses an IPE session's influence on medical students' interactions with cross-disciplinary colleagues during their pediatrics clerkship. Medical, nursing, and pharmacy students in pediatrics clinical rotations participated in an hour-long, virtual classroom-based small-group IPE activity in which they answered questions about a hypothetical case of a febrile neonate's course of hospitalization. Each student received answers to these questions given to students from other professions, such that answering the questions from the perspective of their own profession required the students to share and gather information from other students in their group. After the session, students completed retrospective pre- and postsession self-assessments of their achievement of IPE session objectives, which were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. They also participated in focused interviews that were analyzed qualitatively to explore the session's influence on their clinical experiences. Medical students' retrospective pre- and postsession self-assessment ratings differed significantly, indicating improvement in students' IPE competencies. However, interviews revealed that less than one-third of medical students applied IPE skills during their clerkship due to lack of autonomy and confidence. The IPE session's influence on medical students' interprofessional collaboration was minimal and suggests that classroom-based IPE has limited impact on students' interprofessional collaboration in the clinical learning environment. This finding suggests the need for intentional, clinically integrated IPE activities.

Exploring interprofessional roles and responsibilities of physical therapists and radiation therapists during the care of patients with breast cancer using IPE

In the United States the most common female malignancy is breast cancer.1-2 Standard of care for women with breast cancer will lead them to radiation therapists and physical therapists for treatment.3 The need for these professions to understand each other's roles and responsibilities (RR) is important to provide collaborative quality care to the patient.4-11 Using interprofessional education (IPE) involving case studies that treat patients with breast cancer can create a direct discussion on each other's RR.4-5 A face to face classroom setting was implemented to conduct this IPE. Physical therapy (n = 59) and radiation therapy (n = 10) students completed a pre-IPE survey before meeting for the 1 h IPE session. After the IPE session, a post-IPE survey was completed. The objective for this IPE was to allow for greater understanding of each other's RR. Comparing the pre-IPE and post-IPE survey using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test demonstrated that both physical therapy students and radiation therapy students achieved a better understanding of each other's RR.

Readiness for Interprofessional Education Among Health Profession Students in a University in the United Arab Emirates.

Inter-Professional Education (IPE) is an educational engagement between students from two or more professions possibly leading to better collaboration among them in the future workplace. Several organizations have advocated, developed, and updated guidelines for IPE. This study was aimed at assessing the medical, dental, and pharmacy students' readiness toward interprofessional education (IPE), and to identify the association between readiness and the demographic profile of students in a university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A cross-sectional questionnaire-based exploratory study involving 215 medical, dental, and pharmacy students at Ajman University, UAE, using convenience sampling. The survey questionnaire (Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, RIPLS) had a total of 19 statements. The first 9 items were related to "teamwork and collaboration", items 10-16 were related to "professional identity", and the remaining three (items 17-19) were related to "roles and responsibilities". The individual statements' median (IQR) scores were calculated and the total scores were compared with the demographic characteristics of the respondents with suitable non-parametric tests at alpha=0.05. Altogether, 215 undergraduate students (medical (n= 35)), pharmacy (n=105), and dental (n=75) responded to the survey. The median (IQR) score for the 19 individual statements was '5 (4-5)' for 12 of the statements. The total scores and domain-specific scores (teamworkand collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibilities) according to respondents' demography showed significant differences only in the case of the educational stream with professionalidentity score (p=<0.001), and the total RIPLS score (p=0.024). Further, post hoc pairwise comparison showed a significant difference between medicine-pharmacy (p<0.001), and dentistry-medicine (p=0.009), for professional identity, and medicine-pharmacy (p=0.020) for the total RIPLS score. A high readiness score among students offers the possibility of conducting IPE modules. A favorable attitude can be considered by curriculum planners while initiating IPE sessions.

Twenty questions: Increased frequency of social determinants of health addressed with interprofessional student teams in a simulated interview with standardized patients

Conducting a holistic patient interview, including assessment of social determinants of health (SDH), is a foundational skill necessary in patient care, although different health professionals often focus on different aspects of the interview. To better understand students’ approaches to a patient interview, an interprofessional education session was developed where medical, nursing and pharmacy students worked together to obtain a patient history from a standardized patient (SP). Students were provided with a case and were asked to work uniprofessionally to draft 20 interview questions. They then came together in interprofessional teams to determine a collective final list of 20 questions. After interviewing the SP, teams discussed a plan of care with the SP. The uniprofessional and interprofessional lists of interview questions were analyzed for themes related to SDH, including socioeconomic, access, cultural, and impact factors. Pharmacy students asked more questions related to access, while medical and nursing students asked more questions related to impact. There was an increase in the number of SDH questions when the students worked interprofessionally and with the SP. The study findings support the benefit of conducting interprofessional education with students utilizing SPs to allow practice in holistic patient interviewing and addressing SDH that affect patient outcomes.

Interprofessional Education and Research in the Health Professions: A Systematic Review and Supplementary Topic Modeling

Interprofessional education (IPE) has grown in popularity over the years because it is effective in training future health professionals and serves as the engine of productivity in healthcare-related research. The research team, consisting of higher education faculty in various health profession disciplines, conducted a systematic review of existent IPE literature targeting both graduate and under-graduate students. The main purpose of the systematic review was to categorize research and analyze IPE studies to determine sub-constructs that entail both barriers and facilitators often related to occurrences in primary provider, learner, and researcher IPE initiatives. If identified, IPE training and related curriculum plans were also analyzed in this review. The research team wanted to identify any/all potential instances of the use of research activities in coordination with IPE training to identify underlying constructs to support future college and program-specific andragogy initiatives. Review results demonstrate three categorical constructs related to IPE initiatives in higher education health professions programs (provider, learner, and researcher stakeholder perspectives). Results further demonstrate provider IPE challenges surrounding limited resources and a willingness to participate, while both patient experience and teamwork foci were identified as common IPE session themes. Further, the learners’ perspectives included a challenge related to a willingness to participate, as well as the patient experience focus. Review constructs were further validated using supplementary topic modeling. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that combined systematic review with a supplementary topic modeling. Findings support ongoing pedagogy and research efforts related to IPE activities for health professions programs in higher education.

Implementation of an interprofessional education session for postgraduate trainees

AbstractPostgraduate residency training provides an opportunity to acquire and apply skills and behaviors learned through interprofessional education (IPE) sessions. Little data exists regarding the perceptions of resident trainees on benefits and barriers of IPE. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of a case‐based IPE activity focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management and inhaler technique in order to explore pharmacy and medicine resident perceptions of IPE. Perceptions of IPE were logged via survey and interviews in parallel with participation in the IPE activity and were analyzed with a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify common themes. Four themes supporting IPE models were found including better understanding of another profession's skills, integration of another profession's skill and perspective to improve patient care, recognition of gaps in expertise, and perception of time and coordination as barriers to learning with other professions. In conclusion, IPE activities improve and advance the perceptions and knowledge that medicine and pharmacy residents have about each other's professions.

Knowledge and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Among Pharmacy and Clinical Nutrition Students at King Saud University.

BackgroundInterprofessional education (IPE) in healthcare specialties is important to optimize patient outcomes and shape professional image toward teamwork and collaboration among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of IPE on pharmacy and clinical nutrition students’ knowledge in food–drug interactions and readiness for interprofessional learning.MethodsThis pre-post study was conducted at King Saud University between February and March 2020. We held an interprofessional workshop for pharmacy and clinical nutrition students. After we introduced the faculty members who would deliver the food–drug interactions session, the students took a seven-question quiz (total score = 7) to assess their knowledge about the basic concept of food–drug interactions before the session. After that, a 45-minute lecture was provided by a clinical pharmacy faculty member. Students from both disciplines worked on three clinical scenarios. After completing the assigned scenarios, the students retook the quiz to assess their knowledge after the workshop. In addition, student readiness was assessed using the 19-item Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS).ResultsA total of 48 students were included in this study. Overall, students’ mean scores in both colleges significantly increased after the workshop (p < 0.01). The mean RIPLS total scores (SD) for pharmacy students and clinical nutrition students were 80.6 (7.48) and 81.26 (6.96), respectively, out of a maximum possible score of 95. These scores indicated positive attitudes toward interprofessional learning in both groups.ConclusionPharmacy and clinical nutrition students’ knowledge regarding food–drug interaction improved after implementing the IPE session. Students also reported higher scores for interprofessional learning. This indicates their willingness to participate in future interprofessional learning activities. Roles and responsibilities domain scores were slightly lower among both groups. Simulation-based activities including profession role exchange can be added to traditional IPE sessions to improve this domain.