Interprofessional Clinical Learning Research Articles

Assessing Interprofessional education in a student–faculty collaborative practice network

Although interprofessional relationships are ubiquitous in clinical practice, undergraduate medical students have limited opportunities to develop these relationships in the clinical setting. A few student–faculty collaborative practice networks (SFCPNs) have been working to address this issue, but limited data exist examining the nature and extent of these practices. A systematic survey at a Harvard-affiliated SFCPN is utilised to evaluate the quantity and quality of interprofessional interactions, isolate improvements, and identify challenges in undergraduate interprofessional education (IPE). Our data corroborate previous findings in which interprofessional clinical learning was shown to have positive effects on student development and align with all four domains of Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competencies, including interprofessional ethics and values, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork. These results highlight the unique opportunity and growing necessity of integrating IPE in SFCPNs to endorse the development of collaborative and professional competencies in clinical modalities of patient care.

The experiences of administrators, educators and clinicians during the development and implementation of interprofessional clinical learning units

Introduction: Interprofessional and collaborative practice is essential for effective patient care in new and evolving healthcare service delivery models. Traditionally, interprofessional clinical learning has focused on students and clinicians, however healthcare administrators and managers may play a key role in the success of interprofessional clinical learning. In this paper, the triumphs and trials of those engaged in the interprofessional clinical learning unit (IPCLU) conceptualisation, development and implementation are presented. Methods: Over 60 executives, directors, frontline managers, educators, researchers and staff participated in the development and initiation of an IPLCU in three distinct clinical settings in Alberta: tertiary rehabilitation, acute care and continuing care. Focus groups were used to explore participants’ experiences of developing, initiating and implementing an IPLCU. Results: A qualitative analysis revealed the following predominant themes that describe significant outcomes or considerations: pre-IPCLU challenges, team dynamics, student experiences, cultural changes, sustainability and leadership. Conclusions: Successful implementation of IPCLUs can be achieved with participation and leadership from clinicians and educators and the support of administration at both the academic institution and the healthcare agency.

Promoting Interprofessional Collaboration: A Pilot Project Using Simulation in the Virtual World of Second Life

Background: Contemporary health services increasingly call for teamwork and interprofessional collaboration, though undergraduate curricula provide few opportunities for students to develop the necessary skills. This article presents the results of an innovative pilot project focusing on providing an interprofessional clinical learning experience for students using the virtual world of Second Life.Methods and Findings: A pilot project was implemented and tested on a small group of students studying at two institutions in four healthcare programs. Qualitative descriptive methods were employed to analyze semi-structured interview transcripts. The evaluation revealed that participants were easily able to manage the technologies associated with Second Life and the learning and teaching strategies were engaging and useful. While the project provided students with an opportunity to learn more about the role of other health professionals and their contribution to patient care, it will require some development before it achieves in full the aim to promote interprofessional collaboration. Conclusions: Simulation in virtual worlds such as Second Life offers promise in the area of interprofessional education.

Measuring students perceptions of interprofessional clinical placements: Development of the Interprofessional Clinical Placement Learning Environment Inventory

Pre-professional healthcare courses, including nursing, are increasingly focused on interprofessional learning and experimentation with clinical education in ‘training wards’. This involves students from at least two disciplines who, under supervision, are responsible for patients' care. There is no consensus on how students' clinical learning experiences in this context are evaluated. We report the development and testing of the Interprofessional Clinical Placement Learning Environment Inventory (ICPLEI) in the Australian context. A question set was developed to measure student's perceptions of key variables in an interprofessional clinical learning environment: orientation, supervision, roles, learning and autonomy. An expert nursing panel rated items for a Content Validity Index of .93. Reliability was tested with 38 students. After a 2-week interprofessional ward placement nursing, medical and allied health students (n = 38) rated their learning environment highly, with median responses 4 or 5 of five (mean total 83%). The scale was reliable with a Cronbach alpha of .80 and moderate item-to-total correlations for 22/26 items. The Interprofessional Clinical Placement Learning Environment Inventory is a reliable, feasible, fast to complete tool, suitable for use with pre-registration healthcare students in this setting. Further testing of the tool's psychometric properties is recommended.

Caring For Kids Where They Live: Interprofessional collaboration in teaching and learning in school settings

Across North America, educators are challenged with finding learning opportunities for students in the health professions. Faculty members with a pediatric specialization in nursing recognized that schools were an ideal setting to provide children with care from the health continuum including health promotion, assessment and treatment, and chronic disease management. The faculty of nursing at a Western Canadian University established a unique educational approach by creating an interprofessional pediatric clinical learning experience titled, Caring For Kids Where They Live. This practicum brings together students in the health professions (nurses, dentists, and kinesiologists) and students and their families from three urban schools; one elementary school and two high schools. The primary goals of this partnership were to create an interprofessional clinical learning experience and to promote health and wellness of children and youth. This initiative far exceeded the initial goals. This descriptive article with the use of reflective elements from student journals, identifies learning that occurred in an environment whereby students from the health professions had the opportunity to meet and interact, to collaborate, and to gain experience in caring for children and youth.

Trying on the professional self: nursing students' perceptions of learning about roles, identity and teamwork in an interprofessional clinical placement

AimThis study aims to describe how senior nursing students viewed the clinical learning environment and matured their professional identity through interprofessional learning in a student-led hospital ‘ward’. BackgroundUndergraduate nursing and medical student teams participated in a trial of ward-based interprofessional clinical learning, managing patients over 2weeks in a rehabilitation ward. MethodsQualitative and quantitative program evaluation was conducted using exit student focus groups and a satisfaction survey. ResultsTwenty-three nursing and medical students in three placement rounds provided positive feedback. Five main themes emerged describing their engagement in ‘trying on’ a professional role: ‘experiencing independence and autonomy’; ‘seeing clearly what nursing's all about’; ‘altered images of other professions’; ‘ways of communicating and collaborating’ and ‘becoming a functioning team’. ConclusionsWard-based interprofessional clinical placements offer senior students authentic ideal clinical experiences. We consider this essential learning for future interprofessional collaboration which should be included in senior nursing students' education.

Prior experience of interprofessional learning enhances undergraduate nursing and healthcare students' professional identity and attitudes to teamwork

BackgroundHow willing are today's medical, nursing and other healthcare students to undertake some of their studies as shared learning? There is a lack of evidence of students' views by discipline despite this being a priority task for higher education sectors. This study explored the views of nursing, midwifery, nursing-emergency health (paramedic), medical, physiotherapy and nutrition–dietetics students. MethodsSenior undergraduate students from six disciplines at one university completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale prior to participating in interprofessional clinical learning modules. ResultsFor 741 students, the highest ranked response was agreement about a need for teamwork (mean 4.42 of 5 points). Nursing students held significantly more positive attitudes towards Teamwork/Collaboration, and were more positive about Professional Identity than medical students (p < .001). Midwifery and nursing-emergency-health students rejected uncertainty about Roles/Responsibilities compared with medical students (p < .001). One-third of all students who had prior experience of interprofessional learning held more positive attitudes in each of four attitude domains (p < .05). ConclusionOverall, students' attitudes towards interprofessional learning were positive and all student groups were willing to engage in learning interprofessionally. Early introduction of IPL is recommended. Further studies should explore the trajectory of students' attitudes throughout the university degree.

Fostering Interprofessional Learning in a Rehabilitation Setting: Development of an Interprofessional Clinical Learning Unit

The development and implementation of interprofessional (IP) clinical learning units as a method to enhance IP clinical education and improve patient care in a rehabilitation setting are described. Using a community-based participatory research approach, academia and healthcare delivery agencies formed a partnership to create an IP clinical learning unit in a rehabilitation setting. Preimplementation data from surveys and focus group data identified areas for improvement to enhance IP understanding and collaboration. A working group developed and implemented initiatives to enhance IP practice. Preimplementation, eight themes emerged from which the working group identified goals and implemented strategies to strengthen IP learning. Goals included Creation of an IP Learning Environment, Increased Awareness of IP Practice, Role Clarification, Enhanced IP Communication, and Reflection and Evaluation. Postimplementation data revealed six themes: Communication, Informal IP Learning, Role Awareness, Positive Learning Environment, Logistics, and Challenges. The development of the IP clinical learning unit was successful and rewarding, but not without its challenges. Formal IP education was necessary to enhance collaborative practice, even in a multidisciplinary environment. Commitment and support from all participants, particularly managers and administrators from the healthcare agency, were critical to success. The focus of this unit was on a stroke rehabilitation unit; however, the development and implementation principles identified may be applicable to any team-based clinical setting.

Interprofessional clinical education for occupational therapy and psychology students: A social skills training program for children with autism spectrum disorders

An interprofessional clinical learning experience was developed for pre-licensure occupational therapy (OT) and psychology graduate students. Students worked in interprofessional teams to plan and implement a social skills training program for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The objectives were to provide a hands-on, student-led clinical experience; facilitate interprofessional collaborative learning through leadership partnerships and teach children with ASD to engage in appropriate social skill behaviors. Concurrently, faculty performed qualitative research to explore how the students worked together to provide intervention to the children. Data were collected via interview, direct observation of student planning sessions and student interprofessional interactions, and collection of posts from an online social network site used for session planning. There were six student participants and two faculty participants. Four themes emerged: learning who I am as a professional, learning to appreciate our professional differences, learning to communicate with each other and figuring it out, for the benefit of the kids. This interprofessional clinical learning experience and research helps ensure that students are adequately prepared to represent their profession as part of a diverse interprofessional health care team.

Creating interprofessional clinical learning units: Developing an acute-care model

In exploring innovative approaches to enhanced patient care, an acute care interprofessional clinical learning unit (IPCLU) was established in a medical unit of a large metropolitan hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Part of a larger, community based, participatory mixed method research project, this acute-care model involved several post-secondary institution health science faculties, students, academics, and other post-secondary institutions partnering with the hospital to coordinate and enhance student clinical learning and improve patient care. Pre-implementation data collected from the existing acute-care unit patient-care team, students, and faculty identified areas of strength and enhancement opportunities in interprofessional education (IPE). Interested members of several professions from the patient-care units and students constituted the working group that developed the model. This paper discusses clinical IPE and its relevance in nursing education, explains the processes and mechanisms in creating the IPCLU, details the initiatives that were developed to facilitate enhanced interprofessional care, and offers considerations in advancing IPE in an acute-care setting. The work plan included initiatives that enhance interprofessional teaching and learning culture, increase awareness surrounding interprofessional teamwork and professional roles, promote interprofessional communication and decision-making strategies, and further develop clinical reflection. Insights regarding sustainability are offered.

Sommerfeldt SC, Barton SS, Stayko P, Peterson SK, Pimlott J. Creating Interprofessional Clinical Learning Units: Developing an Acute-Care Model.

Sommerfeldt SC, Barton SS, Stayko P, Peterson SK, Pimlott J. Creating Interprofessional Clinical Learning Units: Developing an Acute-Care Model.