Interprofessional Education Model Research Articles

A Pilot Project of Collaborative Maternity Education: Understanding Perspectives from Family Medicine and Midwifery

Background: In Canada, the decreasing numbers of family physicians and the small number of midwives providing obstetric care have been associated with a decline in access to maternity services. Several studies and policy documents support the development of models to enhance collaboration between midwives and physicians and to expose trainees to these models. A pilot project was undertaken to implement and evaluate an interprofessional learning opportunity involving midwifery students (MWSs) and family medicine residents (FMRs). Methods: The aim was to describe how FMRs and MWSs develop skills to collaborate, and to identify the feasibility of this type of education. A convenience sample of 12 FMRs and 6 MWSs in a southern Ontario suburban community and their preceptors participated in a series of educational seminars and a clinical placement within the midwifery practice. Qualitative focus groups and interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Qualitative analysis highlighted themes relating to the engaging of learners, logistical challenges, and the perceived value of interprofessional education (IPE).Conclusions: This pilot project highlights barriers to and enablers of IPE. The findings will inform the modification of the project for future use and suggest that this project could be a useful model of IPE for primary maternity care.

Unpacking interactions among student teams in a practice-based IPE setting: a qualitative evaluation study

ABSTRACT In many healthcare settings, teams change composition regularly, so healthcare students must be trained to function effectively in dynamic teams before entering the workforce. Interprofessional clinical rotations provide an ideal venue for learners to practice these skills, but little is known about how student teams interact in such settings. In this qualitative observational evaluation, learners from multiple health professions at a single institution participated in scheduled clinics in low-income housing communities for older adults. Interprofessional student teams met with program participants for care coordination, health and wellness assessments, and assistance in setting and achieving health goals; team composition changed from week-to-week. A purposive sample was selected from video-recorded encounters between student teams and their program participants. The aim of this study was to explore team interactions and document learner behaviors. Two researchers independently reviewed discrete segments of each video, recorded their observations and reflections, and then the team discussed, categorized, and identified relevant examples of both effective and ineffective behaviors. Four major themes were observed: inclusiveness, leadership, joy of practice, and sharing of clinical knowledge. Students demonstrated both positive and negative examples of behaviors that aligned with each theme. Understanding how students behave on teams in dynamic settings where patient care is taking place can help educators establish practice-based interprofessional education models that better prepare learners to function effectively and strategies that may improve team interactions.

Interprofessional Education at the University Level: Evidence, Models, and Future Directions

Interprofessional education (IPE) continues to evolve as a critical component of providing quality health care. Emerging evidence suggests IPE is most effective if it exists across the continuum of academia to clinical practice. This article provides current evidence and models for IPE deliv­ery to students beginning in their academic programs.

Implementation and evaluation of an interprofessional prescription writing workshop with a simulated electronic prescribing activity for preclerkship medical students

BackgroundPrescription writing skills are essential for physician practice. This study describes the development and implementation of a curricular intervention focused on improving the knowledge and confidence of preclerkship medical students’ prescription writing practices utilizing an interprofessional education model, with a focus on electronic prescribing.MethodsMedicine and Pharmacy Faculty from a large, urban university collaborated to develop the content of the workshop and a simulation platform was used for the e-prescribing activity. Second-year medical students attended a mandatory in-person workshop facilitated by fourth-year pharmacy students. A pre and post knowledge test and confidence survey were used to assess students’ knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction. Outcomes from the knowledge test were evaluated with paired-samples proportions tests, and confidence survey data was evaluated with paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests in a pre-post study design.ResultsStudents demonstrated a significant increase in prescription writing knowledge and confidence after completing the workshop. On the pre-test, 7% of students (21/284) completed the electronic prescribing assessment correctly and 51% of students (149/295) completed it correctly on the post-test. All items on the confidence survey showed a significant increase in pre- versus post-survey comparisons (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThis interprofessional prescription writing workshop facilitated by pharmacy students shows promise for improving the knowledge and confidence of prescription writing and electronic prescribing practices in preclerkship medical students.

A Pilot Study on Implementing an Interprofessional Education Model for Developing Rehabilitative Science Student Core Competencies

Introduction: Inclusion of interprofessional education (IPE) in academia is required by education accreditation agencies for occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) in the United States. Limited information is available on models of IPE to guide faculty. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of implementing a recently designed IPE model with OT and PT graduate students. This IPE model aligned Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competency domains with novel learning activities, such as an escape room, simulated medical chart, and two simulations. Methods: Data were retrieved from 52 auto-enrolled students (n=14 OT) and (n=38 PT) in a 15-week course held in 2019. Students completed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Self-Assessment Tool on the first day (pre) and last day (post) of the course. Inclusion criteria required all archived assignments to be completed thoroughly. Data were analyzed using a non-parametric statistical test with a significant threshold set at p &lt; 0.05. Results: Results indicated total post-scores were significantly higher compared to pre-scores, z = -5.08, p &lt; .001. Further, sub-group analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test showed significantly higher post-scores compared to pre-scores for interaction component (z=-5.27, p &lt; .001) and values component (z=-2.50, p =.012). Comparison between OT and PT students using the Mann-Whitney U test did not show any significant difference in total scores (U=231.5; p=.853), interaction component (U=221.0; p=.678), and value component (U=238.5; p=.972). Discussion: This IPE model is feasible for a larger study and, after participating, students will move forward in the curriculum with better IPE foundational knowledge.

A Model for Interprofessional Education between Occupational Therapy and Accounting Students: A Mixed-Methods Study

A Model for Interprofessional Education between Occupational Therapy and Accounting Students: A Mixed-Methods Study

Exploring scientific writing as part of a learning model for interprofessional higher health education – A qualitative study

This study investigated how students in interprofessional higher education experienced learning with a model including essay writing and perceived the effect on their learning outcomes. The study occurred at an institute with two interprofessional programs at a university in Norway. Students gained new knowledge or new understandings when their theoretical knowledge and clinical experiences intersected in essay form. Common themes were 1) learning benefits and learning models, 2) benefits of interprofessional collaboration, and 3) Organisations, developments, and changes in writing processes When participating in the study programme based on the developed learning model the students felt both their theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding were deepened. Essays gave students opportunities to formulate their own personal ideas, new understandings, new patterns of practice and deeper knowledge, particularly when writing in groups. Experience-based knowledge has been legitimated by the students who discovered the good interaction between theory and practice. We concluded that the model requires good virtual platforms for the groups to function optimally and that essay writing can give students in higher education the opportunity to formulate their ideas in a more personal way. The interprofessional collaboration, in essay writing, was perceived as both rewarding, challenging, but also a reflective learning process for the students.

The imperative of collaboration: Lived experience perspectives on team approaches in outpatient eating disorder treatment.

Across healthcare broadly, team treatment approaches range from siloed multidisciplinary treatment to synergistic Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP), with IPCP increasingly favored. In eating disorders, clinical practice guidelines endorse team outpatient treatment, and these approaches are widely used in clinical practice. However, there is limited evidence to describe attitudes toward and experiences of team approaches, including IPCP, among individuals with a lived experience. Twenty-seven participants (aged 20-51 years) with a formal eating disorder diagnosis were recruited. Each had received outpatient eating disorder treatment from a team or teams comprising a mental health professional, dietitian, and general practitioner (GP) in the past 2 years. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were derived from the qualitative analysis. Themes included: (1) working together is better; (2) the linchpin of teamwork is communication; (3) teams should foster autonomy with limit-setting; and (4) systemic failures negatively affect team treatment. Participants favored highly collaborative treatment from a team including a mental health professional, dietitian, and GP at a minimum, where the team engaged in high-quality communication and fostered autonomy with limit-setting. Systemic failures negatively affecting team treatment were reported across the care continuum. Findings endorse the application of IPCP to outpatient eating disorder treatment as a strategy to improve treatment satisfaction, engagement, and outcomes. Given the paucity of evidence exploring IPCP in this field, however, the development and evaluation of interprofessional education and treatment models is a foundational necessity. Team eating disorder treatment is widely used in clinical practice, although there is limited evidence to guide interventions. This study explores attitudes toward and experiences of team outpatient eating disorder treatment among individuals with a lived experience. Understanding preferred team treatment characteristics delivers important information to improve treatment satisfaction, engagement, and outcomes for individuals receiving outpatient eating disorder treatment.

Development of Interprofessional workstreams to support interprofessional learning

Collaborative learning is increasingly recogmised as essential in ensuring the delivery of safe and effective healthcare and fundamental to creating the healthcare teams of the future. Central to this, is the early exposure of healthcare students to multiple healthcare professions to begin the process of thinking and practicing in a more interprofessional way. Thus, after reviewing the literature, an interprofessional module was developed and implemented within an undergraduate nursing curriculum in one university in the UK, consisting of ten interprofessional workstreams to support students' exposure to other professions. This paper describes the implementation process, the assessment component, and addresses the evaluation of the process from both the student and teacher perspective . It aims to provide guidance for other educationalists who may wish to implement a similar programme and to encourage further discussion about the possibilities for the development of a model for interprofessional education and practice.

A Case Study of Organizational and Curricular Attributes for Interprofessional Education: A Model for Sustainable Curriculum Delivery

Background: In health and social care (HASC) professional education, interprofessional competencies are optimally developed by engaging in interprofessional education (IPE) activities that are delivered sustainably along a continuum. Ultimately, active engagement in IPE is meant to prepare future practitioners for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), which leads to improved patient/client and community-oriented outcomes. Methods and Findings: This qualitative case study explores how four Canadian post-secondary institutions deliver IPE within their HASC professional education programmatic structures. Data were collected from institutional websites, publicly available IPE relevant records and documents, and interviews with coordinators and faculty/facilitators of IPE curriculum. Data were inductively analyzed to generate relevant themes, followed by a deductive analysis guided by the five accreditation standards domains identified in the Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education (AIPHE) projects. Analyses of the data resulted in five attributes: 1) central administrative unit, 2) longitudinal and integrative program, 3) theoretically informed curriculum design, 4) student-centred pedagogy, and 5) patient/client-oriented approach. Conclusions: Using these attributes and guided by AIPHE’s accreditation standards domains, an organizational-curricular model for sustainable IPE is proposed, through which we assert that IPE reinforced through these organizational and curricular supports reflects successful programming, leading to patient/client-oriented outcomes.

A Comparative Study of Face-to-Face and Online Interprofessional Education Models for Nursing Students in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

A Comparative Study of Face-to-Face and Online Interprofessional Education Models for Nursing Students in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

An innovative interprofessional rural mental health education model for baccalaureate nursing students

Background/Objective: Interprofessional collaboration is an essential skill for high-quality healthcare delivery, particularly for serving members of vulnerable populations who are managing stigmatized conditions, such as mental health disorders. As part of a primary care-focused nursing education grant, faculty created the Interprofessional Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Experience (ICE) for nursing students. This interprofessional experience focused on educating students on team-based care for people managing mental health conditions and substance use disorders in rural areas.Methods: ICE partnered registered nurses, providers, faculty, and graduate counseling students with 56 undergraduate nursing students, providing students with interprofessional mental health-focused clinical experiences in federally-designated Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).Results: Fifty-six nursing grant scholars participated in ICE. Students reported that they found ICE to be valuable.Conclusions: ICE provided nursing students with an interprofessional, team-based immersion experience, allowing them to develop an understanding of the complex mental health needs of people in underserved rural communities.

MoveMore: A model for interprofessional collaboration with nursing and physical therapy students in a community based walking class for people with stroke

Interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities that engage students with members of the community who have a chronic condition, like stroke, provide collaborative learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to describe an IPE activity called MoveMore and its preliminary student learning outcomes. MoveMore is a community, evidence-based walking class, which engages physical therapy and nursing students together with participants with chronic stroke. Each session lasts 12 weeks with outcome measurements taken at weeks 1 and 12 and High Intensity Gait Training (HIGT) implemented during weeks 2–11. MoveMore occurred three times during 2022 and is scheduled to occur three times in 2023. Implementation of a community walking class for people with chronic stroke can be successfully implemented and sustained over time providing benefits to student learning as well as participants. Models of IPE provide the opportunity for other educational institutions to implement similar projects.

Using a meta-ethnographic approach to explore the role of interprofessional education in inclusion health for health and care staff

PurposeThis article aims to present a systematic review and synthesis of evidence on the experiences, role and use of IPE in IH fields by using a meta-ethnographic approach including key concepts, reciprocal and refutational translation and lines of argument. Inclusion health (IH) practice suggests that the needs of excluded groups are more effectively addressed through collaborative working. Interprofessional education (IPE) occurs when two or more professions engage in shared practice and learning, resulting in improved collaboration and quality of care. Studies on IPE to train staff in fields relating to IH exist, but without a settled consensus on the best approaches/activities to foster inclusive practice.Design/methodology/approachThis synthesis is underpinned by a meta-ethnographic approach. It provides explicit stages of data collection and interpretation, while providing space to engage with emerging themes and concepts iteratively (reflecting on author experiences) and inductively (reasoning and interpretation). This study made use of electronic databases and journals for English language peer reviewed articles between 2000 and 2020. Of the 2217 articles, 19 papers were included. The lead author and reviewer completed the review process and a second reviewer reviewed 10% at each stage. The quality was assessed using a modified CASP checklist. Iterative analysis involved PPI and staff stakeholders.FindingsA total of 16 concepts embedded in 19 papers provide insight into the nature of IPE in IH (IH) for staff. It was found that IPE in IH covers a broad group of practitioners and is a complex activity involving individual and organisation readiness, practical and pedagogical factors, influenced by setting, method, curriculum, lived experience, reflection and a learner-driven approach. Barriers to design, implementation and translation into practice were also found to exist.Practical implicationsMost studies used a combination of core learning and group work. Educational modes include mentoring or coaching, reflective practice, immersive learning and people lived experience of exclusion involved in or facilitation thematically centred in trauma-informed informed care, cultural competence, communities of practice and service learning. The aim of these methods was to promote collaboration through identifying shared experiences, problems and tensions and critical reflection of services and organisations. Such transformative learning is reported to challenge stigma, discrimination and misinformation and promote collective empowerment to address social injustice through human connection. Effective models of IPE re-instated the therapeutic relationship and alliances between patients and staff.Social implicationsThis review also calls for the development of health and care workers’ professionalism in relation to their own reflexivity, establishing anti-racist curricula, challenge stigma and ensuring clinicians are aware of and able to negotiate tension and difference identified within the consultation and between themselves. Apart from developing generalist skills, this analysis suggests that IPE in IH may be able to challenge stigma and discrimination towards IH groups by destabilising existing norms and siloed working with the aim of achieving robust interprofessional practice.Originality/valueIPE in IH is a complex activity affected by individual and organisation readiness, setting, experiential, practical and pedagogical factors. Models of teaching are focused on re-instating the therapeutic relationship. There are no systematic reviews in this field and previously there was no settled consensus on the best approaches and learning activities to foster inclusive and collaborative practice.

Three-Stage Assessment as Reverse Innovation in Interprofessional Student Clinical Rotations.

Social determinants of health are increasingly recognized as important factors in individual and public health outcomes and are therefore of interest to both health care systems and medical schools. However, teaching holistic assessment strategies during clinical education remains a challenge. This article reports on the experiences of American physician assistant students who completed an elective clinical rotation in South Africa. In particular, the students' training and practice with 3-stage assessment is highlighted as an example of a reverse innovation practice that could be incorporated in interprofessional health care education models in the United States.

The Intentional Interprofessional Education Model: A Conceptual Framework to Achieve an Interprofessional, Team-Based Approach in a Student Run Clinic

We introduce the conceptual framework of the Intentional Interprofessional Education (Intentional IPE) Model based on the understanding that it takes mindfulness and intentionality for interprofessional teams to build relationships and work together effectively in a structured manner at a Student-Run Clinic (SRC). This Intentional IPE Model developed organically through experiences and conversations over several years among patients, students, and faculty at a SRC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving men experiencing homelessness. Teamwork is at the heart of the Intentional IPE Model, and it is also centered on the following values: curiosity, reflective listening, role exploration, vulnerability, respect, mentorship, and patient partnership. For students and faculty to engage in deep and productive interprofessional learning, professional health philosophies, priorities, and roles must be laid out, and curiosity should be encouraged. Our reflective paper emphasizes the ways the Intentional IPE Model can enhance student-faculty-patient experiences in SRC settings

An Innovative Interprofessional Course in Ophthalmology and Low Vision for Occupational Therapy Students

Introduction: There is an increasing need for occupational therapists with the skills to provide low vision services, however, there is a lack of standardized training of low vision occupational therapy services. The purpose of this study is to design and evaluate a course for occupational therapy students to improve their skills and knowledge about ophthalmology and low vision. Methods: A multifaceted, 15-week curriculum using didactic learning, clinical experience, and reflective writing was created to instruct second-year occupational therapy students in ophthalmology and low vision. Participants included 19 occupational therapy students from Thomas Jefferson University. Each trainee participated in the course modules and then submitted their course evaluations and reflective writings for review. Participants evaluated their satisfaction with the course using a Likert-scale and open-ended comments. Reflective writing from each participant was reviewed by occupational therapy faculty authors (AB, AL). Results: Nineteen students participated in the course, with 19 (100%) of participants reporting being “satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with the course. Analysis of the reflective writings revealed three main themes: the impact of eye-related medical conditions on daily life, insight into the provider-patient interaction and relationship, and the potential role of the occupational therapist on the vision team as an agent to maximize patient adjustment and function. Discussion: This collaborative, multimodal interprofessional educational model can assist in training and sensitizing occupational therapy students in the areas of ophthalmology and low vision. Implications for Practitioners: This report provides a model for medical educators to utilize in the training of occupational therapy students.

Developing Cultural Humility Through an Interprofessional Clinical Education Experience.

An interprofessional clinical education model operating student-led, faculty-guided clinics partnered with rural Midwest American communities lacking health care access. To evaluate how an internship, guided by the Theory of Cultural Humility, during the COVID-19 pandemic supported development of cultural humility in interprofessional health profession students. Nursing, exercise science, public health, and social work participants completed an internship during early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite many experiences being suspended. Quantitative evaluation using pre-/postadministration of Foronda's Cultural Humility Scale was completed across 3 periods measuring change in cultural humility. Total scores of Foronda's Cultural Humility Scale increased for all 3 periods (n = 11, n = 74, and n = 44), demonstrated by aggregate data and statistical analysis. The largest change occurred in the first period. Engaging interprofessional students in experiential learning during real-life, real-time public health events creates reflection of complex practice issues while developing cultural humility.

The Allied Health Expansion Program: Rethinking how to prepare a workforce to enable improved public health outcomes.

Improvements in global public health require universal health care supported by a health workforce with competencies appropriate for local population needs-the right capabilities, in the right place, and at the right time. Health inequities persist in Tasmania, and Australia more broadly, most notably for those people living in rural and remote areas. The article describes the curriculum design thinking approach being used to codesign and develop a connected system of education and training to target intergenerational change in the allied health (AH) workforce capacity in Tasmania, and beyond. A curriculum design thinking process is engaging AH participant groups (faculty, AH professionals, and leaders across health, education, aged and disability sectors) in a series of focus groups and workshops. The design process deals with four questions: What is? What if? What wows? and What works? It also involves Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver phases that continue to inform the development of the new suite of AH education programs. The British Design Council's Double Diamond model is used to organize and interpret stakeholder input. During the initial design thinking discover phase, stakeholders identified four overarching problems: rurality, workforce challenges, graduate skill set shortfalls, and clinical placements and supervision. These problems are described in terms of relevance to the contextual learning environment in which AH education innovation is occurring. The develop phase of design thinking continues to involve working collaboratively with stakeholders to codesign potential solutions. Solutions to date include AH advocacy, a transformative visionary curriculum, and an interprofessional community-based education model. In Tasmania, innovative educational innovations are catalyzing attention and investment in the effective preparation of AH professionals for practice to deliver improved public health outcomes. A suite of AH education that is deeply networked and engaged with Tasmanian communities is being developed to drive transformational public health outcomes. These programs are playing an important role in strengthening the supply of allied health professionals with the right capabilities for metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote Tasmania. They are situated in a broader AH education and training strategy that supports the ongoing development of the AH workforce to better meet the therapy needs of people in Tasmanian communities.

Comparing outcomes of an innovative interprofessional student placement model to standard placement models in rural healthcare settings

ABSTRACT This unique study investigated the educational and service delivery impacts of a team-based, innovative model of interprofessional education (IPE) namely the Rural Interprofessional Education and Supervision (RIPES) model on participating students, clinical educators, and their workplaces, in rural Australian healthcare settings. Participating professions included dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech pathology. Outcomes from the RIPES model were compared with regular uni-professional placement models. A multi-site, pre-post, comparative design was used. The main data collection measures included were the Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education – Revised scale, the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale, and time-usage data. The RIPES model resulted in significant improvement in students’ beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes that underpin interprofessional socialization and collaborative practice in healthcare settings. Importantly, students were able to benefit from the RIPES learning activities without compromising their contact time with patients. Clinical educators spent significantly more time in non-patient contact activities than the uni-professional group. This important work was undertaken in response to previous calls to address a gap in IPE models in rural areas. It involved students from multiple professions and universities, measured impacts on multiple stakeholders, and followed international best practice interprofessional education research recommendations.