Interprofessional Competencies Research Articles

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.

Framework of inter-professional values and professionalism competencies of occupational health service team members

Introduction: The present study aimed to develop the framework of inter-professional values and professionalism competencies in occupational health services.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, in 2018-2018. In the first step, the framework of professionalism and inter-professional competencies in different disciplines was reviewed. In the second step, the competencies and expectations of inter-professional professionalism were assessed through the viewpoints of participants through a focus group method. After that, the explored data was refined based on the principles of competency development. The initial version of the inter-professional professionalism framework was reviewed from the perspective of different stakeholders. &#x0D; Results: In the first step, 39 competencies were explored. In the second phase, 12 competencies were proposed and added to the framework. The inter-professional values and professionalism competency framework was explained with 51 competencies in six areas of altruism, justice, accountability, excellence, respect, and integrity.&#x0D; Conclusion: Providing occupational health services is complex activities that were influenced by multiple stakeholders. Explaining the components of inter-professional professionalism in six core domains as a road map would assist occupational health service providers.

Call the on-Call: Authentic Team Training on an Interprofessional Training Ward - A Case Study.

There is a disconnect between how healthcare teams commonly are trained and how they act in reality. The purpose with this paper was to present a learning activity that prepares healthcare students to authentic teamwork where team members are fluent and move between different localities, and to explore how this setting affects learning. A learning activity "Call the On-Call" consisting of two elements, workplace team training where team members are separated into different locations, and a telephone communication exercise, was created. A case study approach using mixed methods was adopted to explore medical-, nurse-, physiotherapy- and occupational therapy students and supervisor perspectives of the effects of the learning activity. Data collection involved surveys, notes from reflection sessions, a focus group interview, and field observations. Thematic analysis was applied for qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data. The sociocultural learning theory, social capital theory, was used to conceptualize and analyse the findings. The majority of the students (n=198) perceived that the learning activity developed their interprofessional and professional competence, but to a varying degree. Especially nursing students found value in the learning activity, above all due to increased confidence in calling a doctor. Physio- and occupational therapy students lacked the opportunity to be active during the telephone exercise, however, they described how it increased their interprofessional competence. Authenticity was highlighted as the key strength of the learning activity from all professions. Concerns that team building would suffer as a result of splitting the student team proved unfounded. The learning activity created new opportunities for students to reflect on interprofessional collaboration. Constant physical proximity during training is not essential for effective healthcare team building. Splitting the student team during training may in fact enhance interprofessional learning and lead to progression in interprofessional communication.

Nursing Informatics' Contribution to One Health.

To summarise contemporary knowledge in nursing informatics related to education, practice, governance and research in advancing One Health. This descriptive study combined a theoretical and an empirical approach. Published literature on recent advancements and areas of interest in nursing informatics was explored. In addition, empirical data from International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Nursing Informatics (NI) society reports were extracted and categorised into key areas regarding needs, established activities, issues under development and items not current. A total of 1,772 references were identified through bibliographic database searches. After screening and assessment for eligibility, 146 articles were included in the review. Three topics were identified for each key area: 1) education: "building basic nursing informatics competence", "interdisciplinary and interprofessional competence" and "supporting educators competence"; 2) practice: "digital nursing and patient care", "evidence for timely issues in practice" and "patient-centred safe care"; 3) governance: "information systems in healthcare", "standardised documentation in clinical context" and "concepts and interoperability", and 4) research: "informatics literacy and competence", "leadership and management", and "electronic documentation of care". 17 reports from society members were included. The data showed overlap with the literature, but also highlighted needs for further work, including more strategies, methods and competence in nursing informatics to support One Health. Considering the results of this study, from the literature nursing informatics would appear to have a significant contribution to make to One Health across settings. Future work is needed for international guidelines on roles and policies as well as knowledge sharing.

Interprofessional Collaboration Competency Attainment Through SilverScripts, a Collaborative Program With Community Senior Centers

Interprofessional Collaboration Competency Attainment Through SilverScripts, a Collaborative Program With Community Senior Centers

Stronger together: learner reactions on a team-based, interprofessional first death simulation experience

ABSTRACT Patient death is a common experience that may be traumatic for health care providers. Although current rates of burnout are high, evidence supports that interprofessional coping can improve clinician mental health. While health care simulation affords learners freedom of safety to participate in a variety of educational experiences, current application of simulation during patient death is limited to professional duties, without explicitly addressing learner emotional well-being. We designed a patient death simulation scenario within a supportive and reflective interprofessional environment to teach foundational coping and well-being strategies to preclinical nursing, medical, and pharmacy students. Sixty-one students participated in this team-based, First Death simulation experience. Debriefings were analyzed using qualitative inductive content analysis methodology. Students reacted to being part of an interprofessional team after having participated in simulation about the death of a patient as described by five categories: emotional awareness, communication insight, feeling stronger together, with role curiosity, and through reflections on support. Findings suggested that simulation is an effective teaching modality for mentoring interprofessional students on humanistic well-being strategies. Furthermore, the experience fostered reactions transcending interprofessional competencies, which are transferrable to future clinical practice.

A Longitudinal Study of the Effect of an International Level I Fieldwork Experience on Interprofessional &amp; Cultural Competencies

Abstract Date Presented 04/20/2023 Results of this mixed-methods research show the positive longitudinal effect of a short-term Costa Rica study-abroad experience on interprofessional and cultural competencies, teamwork, and collaboration between OT and nursing students. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany N. Saviers Additional Authors and Speakers: Andree Ledbetter, Deborah L. Gangluff

Intraprofessional collaboration among graduate and undergraduate nursing students: A simulated pilot project

Nurse educators must be equipped to instruct nursing students on intraprofessional practice within primary care. A simulated primary care visit was piloted with graduate and undergraduate nursing students using telehealth technology and standardized patients. Students completed the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS), which revealed improvement in student perceived ability to communicate, collaborate, and understand the nursing roles and responsibilities. Simulating intraprofessional practice is a novel strategy to educate nurses for the primary care setting

Curriculum and Competency Evaluation in Respiratory Therapy Entry-to-Practice Programs.

Essential skills for respiratory therapists extend beyond the traditional scope of therapy. Respiratory therapists are expected to communicate effectively, deliver bedside education, and practice within interprofessional teams. Respiratory therapy entry-to-practice program accreditation standards require evaluation of student competence in communication and interprofessional practice. This study aimed to determine if entry into practice programs include curriculum and competency evaluation for oral communication, patient education, telehealth, and interprofessional activities. The primary objective was to identify the curriculum and method of competency evaluation. The secondary objective was to compare degree programs. Directors of accredited respiratory therapy programs were invited to complete an anonymous survey with regard to degree program type, oral communication, patient education, learning strategies, telehealth, and interprofessional activities. Degree programs were classified as associate's of science 2 year, associate's of science < 2 year, or bachelor's of science. Of 370 invited programs, respondents in 136 programs (37%) completed the survey. Oral communication competence was evaluated by 82%. Patient education curriculum and competency evaluation were reported by 86% and 73%, respectively. Telehealth was rarely included or evaluated. Interprofessional activities were included by 74%, of whom 67% evaluated competency. Bachelor's of science programs were more likely to include a specific patient education course (P = .004), evaluate oral communication competency with unpaid preceptors (P = .036), and evaluate interprofessional competence through formal interprofessional programs (P = .005). Associate's degree 2-year programs used laboratory proficiency for patient education competency evaluation more often than other programs (P = .01). associate's of science < 2-year programs were more likely to include simulation experiences that involved motivational interviewing (P = .01). Differences exist among program types for curriculum and competency evaluation. Telehealth was rarely included or evaluated at any degree level. Programs should evaluate the need for enhanced patient education and telehealth instruction.

Encouraging Improvements to Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Care Quality in Nursing Homes

Encouraging Improvements to Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Care Quality in Nursing Homes

Impact of the Interprofessional Leadership in Healthcare Certificate on health professionals’ collaboration and leadership abilities

IntroductionLeadership training is critical in preparing leaders of interprofessional teams to effectively coordinate teams and services to deliver high-quality, collaborative health care. This study aimed to determine the impact of the Interprofessional Leadership in Healthcare Certificate program on participants’ knowledge, skills, and workplace practices. MethodsThirty practicing health professionals participated in the five-month, online certificate program. At the end of the program, participants completed the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) and a leadership competency self-evaluation, both retrospective pre-/post-tests. At six months following the certificate, participants completed the same instruments together with a set of three open-response questions. ResultsNineteen participants completed both the survey at the end of the certificate and the 6-month follow-up survey. There was a significant increase in mean ICCAS and Leadership Competency Self-Evaluation scores from before to after and six-months following the certificate. Five themes were found in the qualitative data: (1) enhanced listening and communication skills; (2) a better understanding of team members’ roles; (3) increased collaboration; and (4) improved leadership skills. ConclusionThe certificate program had a positive impact on participants’ knowledge, skills, and workplace practices relating to interprofessional collaboration and leadership. This may be attributable to intentional interprofessional collaboration in both program development and learning experiences, and the use of the Project ECHO® model.

Teaching interprofessional collaboration among future healthcare professionals.

Healthcare has become more complex in recent years. Such complexity can best be addressed by interprofessional teams. We argue that to ensure successful communication and cooperation in interprofessional teams, it is important to establish interprofessional education in health-related study programs. More precisely, we argue that students in health-related programs need to develop interprofessional competencies and a common language, experience interprofessional contact, build inclusive identities and establish beliefs in the benefit of interprofessional diversity. We give examples how these goals can be implemented in interprofessional education. We also discuss challenges and future avenues for respective research healthcare professionals.

Individuelle Kompetenzen und Team-Performance in klinischen Lernsettings der interprofessionellen Zusammenarbeit erfassen: Die empirische Entwicklung des Interprofessionelle Visiten Individual und Team Assessment Tools (IP-VITA)

BackgroundInterprofessional training wards (IPTW) can contribute to the development of interprofessional competencies. In order to evaluate the acquisition of competencies, instruments are needed that record both team performance and individual competencies in the clinical teaching setting in third-party assessment. This paper describes the Interprofessional Ward Round Individual and Team Assessment-Tool, IP-VITA (“Interprofessionelle Visiten Individual und Team Assessment Tool”) and its development. MethodBased on the empirical exploration of the three observation instruments “Teamwork Assessment Scale” (TAS), “McMaster-Ottawa Scale” and “Individual Teamwork Observation and Feedback Tool” (iTOFT) in at least four rounds each at the HIPSTA (with n=8 students and trainees each), a preliminary version of the IP-VITA was created. This preliminary version was then refined in subsequent empirical steps: a consensual validation in the research team was followed by a “member check“ with the clinical colleagues of the HIPSTA, the input from external experts and an empirical test in an alternative setting. ResultsThe IP-VITA is an empirically developed multimodal instrument to assess the interprofessional competencies of trainees and students as well as their team performance in clinical settings with patient interaction. It comprises three parts. In part A, structural data, the persons involved and the essential patient characteristics are recorded. Part B consists of 12 items and a free-text field for recording behaviour at the individual level. Part C also consists of 12 items and evaluates behaviour at team level. DiscussionThe IP-VITA instrument was developed specifically for the context of evaluating interprofessional ward rounds in a clinical educational setting. The instrument takes into account the ambiguous position of the assessment of interprofessional collaboration between individual competence and team performance. Beyond the HIPSTA, it can be used as a formative assessment instrument, and it may also be useful for summative assessments.

Evaluation of registered nurses’ interprofessional emergency care competence through the gamification of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundsCardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is generally led by instructors in a classroom; thus, conventional teaching materials used in CPR training are often constrained by spatiotemporal factors, limiting learners’ interest and sense of achievement in learning and preventing them from effectively applying what they learn in practice. For greater effectiveness and more flexible application, clinical nursing education has increasingly emphasized contextualization, individualization, and interprofessional learning. This study determined the self-assessed emergency care competencies of nurses who received gamified emergency care training and explored the factors associated with those competencies.MethodsQuota sampling of nurses working at a certain regional hospital in central Taiwan was conducted, and a structured questionnaire was administered to the recruited nurses. A total of 194 valid responses were collected. The research tool was a scale measuring the participants’ emergency care competencies after they received gamified emergency care training. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and multiple regression.ResultsOf the recruited participants, 50.52% were ≤ 30 years old; 48.45% worked in the internal medicine department; 54.64% graduated from 2-year university technical programs; 54.12% were N2 registered nurses; 35.57% and 21.13% had ≥ 10 and 1–3 years of work experience, respectively; and 48.45% worked in general wards. User need (r = 0.52, p = 0.000), perceived usefulness (r = 0.54, p = 0.000), perceived ease of use (r = 0.51, p = 0.000), and usage attitude (r = 0.41, p = 0.000) were positively correlated with emergency care competencies. Furthermore, the multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived usefulness was the primary factor associated with the participants’ emergency care competencies.ConclusionsThe results of this study may serve as a reference for acute care facility authorities in designing advanced nursing competency standards and emergency care training programs for nurses.

A comparison of medical and pharmacy student perspectives of a clinical interprofessional home-visit versus a virtual interprofessional workshop.

Background: No Place Like Home is a clinical interprofessional education (IPE) activity whereby pharmacy and medical students conduct home visits under the guidance and supervision of a clinical preceptor to homebound patients. Purpose: We examined pharmacy and medical student perceptions of mastery of interprofessional competencies during an in-person clinical home visit pre-COVID-19 pandemic versus a virtual IPE learning activity consisting of didactic and case discussions in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We administered the same modified Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) instrument, which uses a five-point Likert scale, to both the in-person and the virtual IPE students following their learning activity. Results: We received a total of 459 completed survey responses with an overall response rate of 84%. For both groups of students, the in-person format was preferred, however, to our surprise, the results indicated that students in the virtual group reported greater perceived gain in interprofessional skills than students in the in-person group. In addition, pharmacy students perceived greater gain from the interprofessional activity and offered more thoughtful reflections about their experience. Conclusions: Even though both groups of students preferred the in-person visit, the IPE objectives were equally (for medical students) or better (for pharmacy students) absorbed in the virtual environment than the in-person clinical home visit.

Development of a pilot interprofessional education workshop for healthcare students and assessment of interprofessional collaborative competency attainment

ABSTRACT We describe the development and student evaluation of a collaborative health service provider and higher education institution initiative designed to deliver an Interprofessional Education (IPE) pilot workshop program for healthcare students. The aim was to investigate whether an IPE workshop would result in improved student confidence in self-reported interprofessional competencies using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS) tool. The workshops involved interprofessional student groups working on a patient case followed by a facilitator-led discussion and patient representative interaction. There were three different voluntary, extra-curricular workshops. A total of 99 students registered, from 3rd to 5th year undergraduate and 2nd year graduate entry healthcare programs at a single Irish university in February 2022. Ninety-three post-workshop survey responses showed statistically significant improvements in the ICCAS subscales of Communication, Collaboration, Roles and Responsibilities, Collaborative Patient/Family-Centered Approach, and Team Functioning; Conflict Management showed less change. Students reported positively on the benefit of the patient representative, the workshop format, and the opportunity to collaborate with students from other professions. Our findings indicate that this was a beneficial and effective way to deliver IPE across a range of healthcare professions that led to improvements in self-reported interprofessional competencies.

A Systematic Review of Interprofessional Palliative Care Education Programs.

Interprofessional education (IPE) involving palliative and end-of-life content benefits learners by addressing interprofessional and palliative care (PC) competency needs. A synthesis of educational approaches promoting interprofessional PC in academic and clinical settings would address research gaps and promote effective teaching. A systematic review of interprofessional PC educational studies was conducted to summarize current approaches in PC IPE and to appraise teaching and research methods. Characteristics of excellence in interprofessional PC education established by Donesky et al. served as a framework for evaluating studies in this systematic review. A total of 39 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Learners from medicine and nursing were the most included professions. University programs represented most studies, and evaluation methods demonstrated achievement of mostly self-reported outcomes like learner attitude and self-efficacy. While the effect of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes is well-documented, the effect of IPE on PC delivery is not. Although content spanned all interprofessional and PC domains, few studies addressed cultural aspects and fewer addressed well-being for the care provider. In light of the current healthcare landscape, there is an imminent need to address culture and provider well-being more directly through interprofessional PC education. Education and research must also move beyond university programs into health systems to support the professional development of clinicians for systems integration, sustainability, and impact on patient outcomes. Future evaluation of interprofessional PC education would be strengthened by multisite studies, randomized controlled trials, and repeated measures looking at outcomes over time.

Psychological Safety as an Educational Value in Interprofessional Health Education.

The Interprofessional Education Collaborative competency on values and ethics is defined as "work[ing] with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values." Essential to mastery of this competency is acknowledging biases, many of which are rooted in historically entrenched assumptions about the value of medical supremacy in health care, popular cultural representations of health professionals, and students' lived experiences. This article describes an interprofessional education activity in which students from several health professions discuss stereotypes and misconceptions about their own professions and other health professions and professionals. Psychological safety in the learning environment is key, so this article also canvasses how authors revised the activity to promote and facilitate open communication.

Professional partners: Longitudinal interprofessional education events with pharmacy and nursing programs

Background and purposeFaculty from a school of pharmacy and a school of nursing developed a series of interprofessional education (IPE) events to create a two-year, longitudinal experience to maximize the time student groups would be able to work together. This paper outlines the activities created and the assessment tool utilized to evaluate the experiences. Educational activity and settingFour activities were planned for 43 pharmacy and 19 nursing students to cover topics encountered by both professions. These included Vitals Techniques, Medication Reconciliation, End of Life Care, and Enteral/Parenteral Nutrition. Each activity was evaluated by students using a modified Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS). FindingsThe most challenging part of creating this longitudinal experience was finding dates and keeping the groups the same from activity to activity. Despite this, the activities were well executed and for each event, over 95% of students completing the ICCAS survey agreed that the activities were appropriate and beneficial for IPE. Anecdotally, students enjoyed the experience and appreciated the group consistency over time. SummaryThe creation of a series of longitudinal IPE activities was successfully implemented between a school of pharmacy and a school of nursing.

How do former medical and nursing undergraduates describe their learning on an interprofessional training Ward 12–18 months later? – A retrospective qualitative analysis

BackgroundInterprofessional training wards (IPTWs) seem to deliver good results in terms of development of interprofessional competencies. However, evidence of long-term effects of these training wards on learners’ competency development is lacking and little is known about retrospective evaluation of IPTWs. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the retrospective evaluation of competency development and interprofessional collaboration of former undergraduates 12 or more months after a placement on an IPTW.MethodsEight follow-up interviews were conducted with four nursing and four medical professionals 12–18 months after they had finished a placement on an ITPW throughout their vocational training. Interviews were translated verbatim and analysed deductively and inductively based on qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe qualitative content analyses deductively identified two main categories regarding the research question, namely the uniqueness of the programme and interprofessional competencies developed by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative. Sub categories were identified inductively, representing the perceived competency development and the learning opportunities on the IPTW as compared to other clinical placements throughout vocational training and in transition to practice. Interviewees seemed to have developed competencies that are important for interprofessional collaboration such as communication, roles and responsibilities, as well as competencies in patient care and management. Considered beneficial for learning were the opportunity to work self-responsibly and the interprofessional collaboration on the IPTW, both of which were neither possible in almost any other placement nor in transition to practice.ConclusionFindings show that IPTWs can be sufficient in competency development and role clarification and are perceived positively by learners, but structures in clinical practice can impede sustaining competency development and efficient interprofessional collaboration.