Interprofessional Education Competencies Research Articles

The Syphilis Testing Result Interprofessional Counseling and Education (STRICE) simulation

Abstract The Syphilis Testing Result Interprofessional Counseling and Education simulation provides a scenario where students of a variety of health professions programs practice Interprofessional Education Collaborative domains while working with each other to communicate syphilis laboratory test results and counsel an anxious pregnant patient. The scenario allows learners to practice their respective roles, such as understanding and explaining laboratory results, gathering additional history from the patient, deliberating further diagnostic testing, and discussing risks and benefits of various treatment options. This simulation includes considerations for the impact of outcomes for the mother and baby, as well as socioeconomic and cultural factors that may affect the patient's decision-making. The activity consists of a pre-scenario briefing and interprofessional team plan development, followed by a standardized patient encounter and subsequent debriefing. The learners completed survey questions to assess changes in perceptions of interprofessional practice and education competencies before and after the session. After participation in the simulation activity, most participants reported an overall increase in competency domains.

Interprofessional Education Competency Building using Simulation: Speech Language Pathology and Dietetics Students Work Together on a Dysphagia Simulation Lab

Interprofessional Education Competency Building using Simulation: Speech Language Pathology and Dietetics Students Work Together on a Dysphagia Simulation Lab

Engaging interprofessional students and providers for primary care redesign

Evaluation of interprofessional education (IPE) has been limited to students’ self-report and rarely assessed content validity using real-world input.This study compared students who did and did not complete an IPE curriculum using a mock interview. Aims were to compare them: 1) in terms of competencies around team based care, and 2) as rated by clinicians providing team based care.Students participated in a mock field placement interview. Study staff rated transcripts on IPE competencies. Clinicians rated and ranked students in terms of their knowledge/values and preference for hiring.IPE students had higher ratings on seven of eleven competences than non-IPE students. Clinical experts rated IPE students higher and ranked them as more preferable.This study demonstrates the efficacy and validity of foundational IPE beyond self-report. IPE impacted students’ responses in a real-world scenario in a way that discriminated them from their peers.

A mock job interview to assess an interprofessional education program

Abstract Background Evaluation of interprofessional education (IPE) has been limited to students’ self-report and rarely assessed content validity using real-world input. Purpose This study compared students who did and did not complete an IPE curriculum using a mock interview. Aims were to compare them: 1) in terms of competencies around team based care, and 2) as rated by clinicians providing team based care. Method Students participated in a mock field placement interview. Study staff rated transcripts on IPE competencies. Clinicians rated and ranked students in terms of their knowledge/values and preference for hiring. Discussion. IPE students had higher ratings on seven of eleven competences than non-IPE students. Clinical experts rated IPE students higher and ranked them as more preferable. Conclusions This study demonstrates the efficacy and validity of foundational IPE beyond self-report. IPE impacted students’ responses in a real-world scenario in a way that discriminated them from their peers.

A pilot interprofessional program to promote oral health and wellness in Appalachian children.

In a first of its kind authentic clinical interprofessional education (IPE) experience, University of Kentucky (UK) health profession students joined dental students to implement a pilot program to promote oral health and wellness with children living in underserved Appalachian communities. Known as hCATS (Health Colleges Advancing Team Skills) to Appalachia, a total of 113 students participated in interprofessional teams of 48 health profession students paired with 65 dentistry students to provide health services. Although the UK College of Dentistry has provided sealant services (tooth decay prevention) to elementary school children for several decades in eastern Kentucky counties, funding through the UK Women and Philanthropy Network allowed services to expand to include general health screening and age-appropriate education on oral health, nutrition, exercise, and prevention of substance abuse. The UK Center for Interprofessional Health Education (CIHE) coordinated the efforts for students from the colleges of Communication and Information Sciences, Health Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Social Work. In addition to the clinical experience in the elementary schools, nursing and other health profession students explored the health resources of the communities visited and reflected on their experience in collaborative practice that the program was designed to encourage. The authors noted positive outcomes with interprofessional education competencies, although more structure for collaboration is required to ensure students who work with other professions in an authentic clinical setting can gain early relevant practice in, and experience the benefits of, collaborative patient care.

Interprofessional Education Among Occupational Therapy Programs: Faculty Perceptions of Challenges and Opportunities.

We investigated occupational therapy faculty beliefs about and perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and to identify differences in faculty positions on IPE between programs affiliated with an on-campus academic health care center (AHC) and programs not affiliated with an on-campus AHC. Online surveys were distributed by email to 1,466 faculty at programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. The results were described using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. Faculty responses supported the need for IPE. Ethics was ranked as the most important IPE competency among both the AHC and the non-AHC groups. IPE was more commonly included in the curriculum of programs with an on-campus AHC than in the curriculum of those without an AHC. The majority of occupational therapy faculty supported the need for IPE; however, many reported limitations with faculty or time constraints as barriers to IPE.

Experiential learning exercise to achieve objective assessment of interprofessional education

Abstract At the undergraduate medical education level, many U.S. medical students have only experienced interprofessional patient care by observation or intermittent discussion-based educational activities. However, we believe medical students will gain the most impactful understanding of the allied health professionals they will collaborate with in the future through both real or simulated practice as learners as well as witnessing the direct benefit to patient care. Given the lack of objective assessment of interprofessional education (IPE) competencies, specifically those with a direct impact on patients, we developed an innovative simulated exercise focusing on a medical student discharge plan before and after an interprofessional team meeting. We hypothesized that the interprofessional team of medical, nursing, and pharmacy students will assist the medical student in producing a discharge summary with higher specificity and completeness than a discharge summary produced by a medical student alone. Data obtained from discharge plan scoring and post-intervention narrative survey was analyzed via convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The mean post-intervention score of the discharge plan showed improvement, but did not meet statistical significance. However, when evaluated by each individual domain, the Follow-up section of the post-intervention discharge plan showed significant improvement. This exercise is a first step in the direction of obtaining more objective outcomes data as a result of students engaging in simulated interprofessional team-based care. Evaluation data demonstrated a positive trend towards a more comprehensive, and by extension, safer discharge plan. We are hopeful that our work contributes to other exercises intended to help move from students merely “enjoying” the IPE experience toward demonstrating the first-hand benefit to patients, which substantiates and supports the motivation for future physicians to move toward competence in team based care.

Evaluation of Interprofessional Education Implementation Among Nutrition Program Directors in the United States

Interprofessional education (IPE) promotes multidisciplinary learning to encourage team collaboration and improved patient outcomes. This study investigates the beliefs, application, and structure of IPE within programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. An online survey was sent to nutrition program directors. Respondents agreed with the core values of IPE and the benefits they present. Communication ranked significantly different as an IPE competency by not-for-profit versus for-profit and among differing program types (didactic, coordinated, internship). Nutrition program directors support the idea of IPE but have not yet translated this into effective implementation.

Interprofessional education curricula in pediatric residency programs: Survey of U.S. pediatric program directors

Abstract Background Interprofessional teams can enhance healthcare delivery and patient care outcomes. Interprofessional collaboration is an expected subcompetency for trainees; yet, there is sparse literature describing interprofessional education (IPE) curricula specific to graduate medical education. Purpose To describe how IPE curricula is approached in pediatric residency programs in the United States. Methods A web-based survey of pediatric residency program directors (PDs) was used to assess IPE curricula characteristics, competency assessment, and evaluation methods. Results Forty-one PDs completed the survey in its entirety (21% response rate). Eighty-five percent of respondents described having IPE curricula in their residency programs, but characteristics varied widely. Fifty-six percent of PDs endorsed assessing trainee interprofessional competency development and 17% reported formal evaluation of IPE curricula. Two-thirds (68%) of PDs reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their program's IPE curricula. Conclusions Pediatric residency programs' approaches to implementation and evaluation of IPE curricula have considerable variation, frequently with a lack of formal trainee competency assessment. While program directors report overall satisfaction with IPE curricular activities, the degree of variability, lack of formalized curricula, and decreased emphasis on assessing IPC competency attainment represent areas for further investigation.

Experiences of Pharmacy Trainees from an Interprofessional Immersion Training.

Interprofessional education is essential in that it helps healthcare disciplines better utilize each other and provide team-based collaboration that improves patient care. Many pharmacy training programs struggle to implement interprofessional education. This purpose of the study was to examine the effect of a 30-h interprofessional training that included pharmacy students to determine if the training helped these students build valuable knowledge and skills while working alongside other health care professions. The interprofessional training included graduate-level trainees from pharmacy, behavioral health, nursing, and family medicine programs where the trainees worked within teams to build interprofessional education competencies based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competencies. Sixteen pharmacy trainees participated in the training and completed pre- and post-test measures. Data were collected over a two-year period with participants completing the Team Skills Scale and the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale. Paired sample t-tests indicated that, after this training, pharmacy trainees showed significant increases in feeling better able to work in healthcare teams and valuing interprofessional practice.

Stroke Simulation Activity: A Standardized Patient Case for Interprofessional Student Learning.

Integration of interprofessional education (IPE) activities into health professions curricula aims to promote collaborative practice with a goal of improving patient care. Through intercollegiate collaborations involving four different educational organizations and an academic health center, an interprofessional stroke simulation involving standardized patients was developed and instituted for IPE-naive student learners from medicine, nursing, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and physical therapy programs with additional involvement from pharmacy and social work learners. Herein, we describe the design of the IPE simulation and examine its impact on students' interprofessional development as assessed by students' completion of a validated IPE competency self-assessment tool and written reflective comments after the simulation. Self-assessed interprofessional interaction and values domains were evaluated before and after the activity using the shortened 16-question Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Self-Assessment tool; data revealed significant changes in both the values and interaction domains of the tool from pre- to postsimulation experience (p < .0001). The qualitative student reflections revealed new student realizations around the concepts of collaboration, leadership, roles of different professions, and the importance of communication after participating in the simulation. Quantitative data coupled with qualitative reflections from learners support the effectiveness of this activity for facilitating development of interprofessional competencies among health professions students.

THE EFFECT OF CONTECT, INPUT AND PROCESS IN ACHIEVING INTERPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION AND TEAMWORK COMPETENCES

Background: Interprofessional Education (IPE) is a process occurs when students from two or more professions learn about and from each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Faculty initiated the IPE program called Community and Family Health Care - interprofessional Education (CFHC-IPE) that began in 2013 with the aim to build the capacity of community, family medicine and interprofesional. This study aims to evaluate the effect of context, input and process towards the achievement of interprofessional competences.Method: This study was a qualitative research design using a case study evaluation Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP). Respondents of this study are five-IPE CFHC managers, three heads of study program, 10 lecturers and 35 students from PSPD, PSIK and PSGK. Data collected through FGD, in-depth interviews and document analysis. FGD and in-depth interviews conducted using an interview guide while document analysis carried out on the grand design CFHC-IPE. Results: Context evaluation shows that the needs assessment has not been carried out. Input evaluation shows that the preparation of the grand design CFHC-IPE is not align and debriefing facilitators need to be added. There were gaps in the implementation of learning activities and assessment and program monitoring was inadequate. IPE competencies in the first year on the student of 2014 were not achieved. Conclusion: Inter-professional communication and teamwork competence on student of class 2014 at CFHC-IPE program in the first year was not achieved and influenced by the weaknesses in the content, inputs and processes aspects.

Medicine Pharmacy Interprofessional Exercise Pilot: Lessons Learned.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy with leaders of other health professions formed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) in 2009. Interprofessional education (IPE) is now a component of accreditation standards for academic programs in both medicine and pharmacy. While geographically separated, the Medical College of Georgia (Augusta University) and the College of Pharmacy (University of Georgia) have over 40 year history of collaboration but never intentionally added joint curricular offerings.To address IPE competencies, we developed and evaluated a medicine pharmacy collaborative exercise. Specifically, to compare the attitudes and perception toward interprofessional education and practice of students from two disciplines. An observational cross sectional study with 208 third year medical (M3) students and 108 third year pharmacy (P3) students was conducted in two consecutive academic years. Groups consisted of 6-8 M3 and 3-4 P3 students from all campuses across the state. The M3 student was to choose a patient they had seen who was taking at least 3 prescription medications. Objectives for students were to discuss the case (medications, side effects, cost, pharmacogenetics, drug-drug interactions, and cost effectiveness). A report of M3-P3 findings was to be submitted for grading by the Pharmacy faculty. Once the exercises were completed surveys were distributed and the de-identified data was analyzed in relation to IPEC competencies. The study was conducted in one academic year and 316 responses were obtained. Within medical students 48.2 % agreed and 21.2 % strongly agreed to consult with Pharm D in the future. Perception of leadership in the groups was shifted more toward pharmacy students (56.5% vs. 27.4%, p<0.0001). Students confidence in working with other professionals was improved more for pharmacy students than medical students (50.0% in P3 and 30.2% in M3 p =0.0014). Communication skills improved more in P3 than M3 (48.2% in P3 and 28.3% in M3, p=0.0043). More research is needed on equal adoption of IPE by medical and pharmacy students. Emphasis should be made on equal state of training (theory vs. clinical) on both sides with focus on working as a team and value of each team member. More direct involvement in patient care is needed with both M3 and P3 having face to face contact with patients and each other.

Activities designed to simultaneously meet discipline-specific course objectives and interprofessional education competencies

Activities designed to simultaneously meet discipline-specific course objectives and interprofessional education competencies

Service Learning Initiatives in Rural Populations: Fostering Cultural Awareness

This article focuses on the implementation of service learning initiatives with rural populations to foster cultural awareness within undergraduate nursing students. The results of student reflections and how they relate to increased awareness of global rural health, cultural awareness, and health disparities is presented. Objectives: (1) To describe an international service learning project conducted through a short-term medical mission to the United Republic of Tanzania for Baccalaureate nursing students; and (2) explore student observations and perceptions regarding culture and health in a rural community. Overall, we hope to gain information about the impact of student experiences regarding international service learning, rural health, and cultural perspectives and awareness. Methods: The study used the qualitative method of reflective journaling to investigate student observations and perceptions during a medical mission trip regarding culture and health in an international rural community. Journals were analyzed using content analysis and thematic identification. Results: Student reflections revealed themes of increased awareness in global cultural differences, interprofessional relationships, compassionate care, and health disparities in a variety of rural settings. Students who participated in service learning initiatives within these international medical trips stated they were more globally aware and were now more likely to provide services to rural communities in their future nursing careers. Conclusions: This SL project effectively evaluated the benefits of a short-term international mission trip. Study results showed student benefits of increased awareness of community needs, decreased stereotyping, increased confidence in working with culturally diverse populations, and increased personal and professional growth for cultural competence. We identified a need to include and develop core interprofessional education competencies in future trips. Keywords: Rural, Rural health, Service-learning, Medical mission, Cultural competence DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v18i1.506

Integrating Interprofessional Education and Cultural Competency Training to Address Health Disparities

ABSTRACTProblem: Many U.S. medical schools have accreditation requirements for interprofessional education and training in cultural competency, yet few programs have developed programs to meet both of these requirements simultaneously. Furthermore, most training programs to address these requirements are broad in nature and do not focus on addressing health disparities. The lack of integration may reduce the students' ability to apply the knowledge learned. Innovative programs that combine these two learning objectives and focus on disenfranchised communities are needed to train the next generation of health professionals. Intervention: A unique interprofessional education program was developed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest. The program includes experiential learning, cultural exposure, and competence-building activities for interprofessional teams of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy students. The activities include (a) educational seminars, (b) clinical experiential learning in a student-led clinic, and (c) community-based service-learning through health assessments and survey research events. Context: The program focuses on interprofessional collaboration to address the health disparities experienced by the Marshallese community in northwest Arkansas. The Marshallese are Pacific Islanders who suffer from significant health disparities related to chronic and infectious diseases. Outcome: Comparison tests revealed statistically significant changes in participants' retrospectively reported pre/posttest scores for Subscales 1 and 2 of the Readiness for Interpersonal Learning Scale and for the Caffrey Cultural Competence in Healthcare Scale. However, no significant change was found for Subscale 3 of the Readiness for Interpersonal Learning Scale. Qualitative findings demonstrated a change in students' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward working with other professions and the underserved population. Lessons Learned: The program had to be flexible enough to meet the educational requirements and class schedules of the different health professions' education programs. The target community spoke limited English, so providing interpretation services using bilingual Marshallese community health workers was integral to the program's success.

One Team-Patient, Family, and Health Care Providers: An Interprofessional Education Activity Providing Collaborative and Palliative Care.

AbstractThe article explains an approach to building interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice opportunities as well as content in palliative/hospice care within undergraduate and graduate curricula for six health disciplines, including speech-language pathology. Graduate students from nursing, medicine, communication sciences, and disorders, physical therapy, social work and nutrition, as well as undergraduate nursing students participated in one of four IPE training sessions using six videotaped simulation scenes portraying the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Learning objectives included (1) engaging in effective interprofessional communication and teamwork, (2) discussing therapeutic patient/family communication, (3) employing supportive holistic care with patients and families at end of life, and (4) relating the patient's physiological assessment findings to the dying process. Students discussed the role of the interprofessional team in end-of-life care and were coached on ways to apply interprofessional communication, a key interprofessional education competency, using patient- and family-centered care principles. Results revealed strong positive agreement among the disciplines regarding the value of the learning opportunities provided during this IPE simulation activity.

Interprofessional Education: Graduate Students’ Perspectives

Background: This program evaluation used qualitative methodology to describestudents’ expectations, concerns, needed supports, and experiences in a yearlongInterprofessional Education program.Methods and Findings: Focus groups were used to obtain the views of nurse practitionerand Master of social work students. Students participated in focus groups atthe program beginning and completion. Interprofessional education competencies,expectations, and concerns were examined. Results showed that at the beginning,students indicated a desire to understand the other’s professional role. They alsoexpressed concerns. During the post-program interviews, students indicated adesire to have had more classes and work together in clinical practice. Limitationsincluded a lack of participation of all students in the final focus groups.Conclusions: Student input in a program is essential. Further research is needed.Keywords: Interprofessional education (IPE); Qualitative research; Student evaluation;Graduate education

Respiratory Therapy Faculty Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional education (IPE) improves collaboration and patient care through joint education between health professions. Respiratory therapy (RT) faculty were surveyed to evaluate their knowledge and attitudes toward IPE. We report current opportunities for IPE from faculty and compare responses from associate's, bachelor's, and master's degree programs and profit versus nonprofit institutions. We developed an online survey based on IPE literature and questions modified for the RT discipline. The survey was distributed by email to 874 faculty from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care accredited programs. The response rate was 33%. Faculty identified IPE as an important component of RT education (n = 207, 80%) but reported challenges in integrating IPE into current curriculum. Overall, communication was ranked as the most important IPE competency (n = 104, 39%) and ethics least important (n = 131, 49%). When asked how many credit hours are required to teach IPE, 48% of respondents reported that they were unsure of an appropriate time requirement. Significant differences between associate's and bachelor's/master's degree program faculty were found on the following topics: institutional resources needed for IPE (P < .001), faculty availability (P < .001), curriculum availability for IPE (P = .02), and importance of including IPE at academic health center campuses (P < .001). IPE is recognized as an important component of RT education by all faculty respondents. However, significant differences in knowledge and attitudes toward IPE exist between faculty in associate's versus bachelor's/master's degree programs. Revisiting the current accreditation standards program may allow IPE to take a more prominent role in RT curricula.

Interprofessional Education in the Internal Medicine Clerkship Post-LCME Standard Issuance: Results of a National Survey.

Several decades of work have detailed the value and goals of interprofessional education (IPE) within the health professions, defining IPE competencies and best practices. In 2013, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) elevated IPE to a U.S. medical school accreditation standard. To examine the status of IPE within internal medicine (IM) clerkships including perspectives, curricular content, barriers, and assessment a year after the LCME standard issuance. Anonymous online survey. IM clerkship directors from each of the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine's 121 U.S. and Canadian member medical schools in 2014. In 2014, a section on IPE (18 items) was included in the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine annual survey of its 121 U.S. and Canadian member medical schools. Items (18) assessed clerkship director (CD) perspectives, status of IPE curricula in IM clerkships, and barriers to IPE implementation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of free-text responses to one of the survey questions. The overall survey response rate was 78% (94/121). The majority (88%) agreed that IPE is important to the practice of IM, and 71% believed IPE should be part of the IM clerkship. Most (76%) CDs agreed there is need for faculty development programs in IPE; 27% had such a program at their institution. Lack of curricular time, scheduling conflicts, and lack of faculty trained in IPE were the most frequently cited barriers. Twenty-nine percent had formal IPE activities within their IM clerkships, and 38% were planning to make changes. Of those with formal IPE activities, over a third (37%) did not involve student assessment. Since LCME standard issuance, only a minority of IM clerkships have included formal IPE activities, with lectures as the predominant method. Opportunities exist for enhancing educational methods as well as IPE faculty development.