Interprofessional Health Care Teams Research Articles

Development of a student intervarsity interprofessional healthcare team challenge to promote collaboration and teamwork

This curricular report describes the development and evaluation of an intervarsity competition entitled the All-Ireland Interprofessional Healthcare Challenge (AIPEC). Students from eight universities across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland take part in this extracurricular event on an annual basis. In this manuscript, we report on the development of the case and on the findings of a student evaluation of the event following the 2022 event using the Assessment of the Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale for Students (AITCS-II student version). Of the 34 students who participated in AIPEC 2022, responses were obtained from 24 (70.6 % response rate). Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive including positive agreement in all four AITCS-II subscales (partnership, coordination, cooperation and teamworking). Free text comments further endorse the event as a positive, collaborative student learning opportunity. In conclusion, our experience has shown the AIPEC to be a beneficial learning experience for students, with clear benefits in developing clinical knowledge and attitudes towards collaborative practice and teamworking.

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

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

Learning About Resilience from Rural Interprofessional Healthcare Teams: Insights from the “First Wave” of COVID-19

Building resilience is a key concern for adult educators today as we face unprecedented global challenges such as the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Nowhere is this more apparent than in educational initiatives with health professionals who experience many stressors in their work, now amplified by the pandemic. This paper reports the results of focus groups with three interprofessional primary healthcare teams in rural Nova Scotia, Canada, in the fall of 2021. The aim was to learn about their lived experience during the first year of the pandemic, as a basis for considering how resilience could be nurtured and supported in rural team-based collaborative practices settings. Findings reveal that, while each collaborative team experienced recognized COVID-19 workplace stressors, they leveraged a store of collective resilience to navigate the pandemic. The trust, sense of purpose, and shared problem-solving skills they derived from working in collaborative structures over time enabled them to regain equilibrium and to adapt to new norms, and to transform thier practices. The study highlights the power of collaborative learning to strengthen overall ability for resilient performance, and the adaptive capacity that is required to deliver and sustain quality healthcare. The study highlights the need for continuing professional education that values naturally occurring practice-based learning. Adult educators are well positioned to support health professionals and health systems to nurture and support resilient action. They bring an understanding of effective collaborative tools and processes that foster dialogue and collective awareness that leads to a shared identity and understanding. As this study reveals, it is this shared identity and capacity arising within a group that enables them to draw on their collective sources of support to deal with adversity.

Occupational therapy practitioners’ experiences with interprofessional collaborative practice

ABSTRACT Although occupational therapists engage as part of interprofessional healthcare teams, explicit investigation into their experiences of interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) has not been explored. This study evaluated occupational therapists in the United States experiences of IPCP with additional inquiry into which healthcare professionals occupational therapy practitioners interact with and how they engage in collaboration, during IPCP. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey; 142 occupational therapy practitioners responded. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate analyses; open-ended responses underwent consensual qualitative analysis. Participants reported most often engaging in IPCP with physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, nurses, physicians, and case managers, although variations in the top five professions were evident between practice settings. In addition, 82% of the respondents reported either feeling prepared or very prepared for IPCP after completing their pre-licensed educational programs. Two qualitative themes have emerged to describe key education-oriented and practice-oriented interprofessional experiences. To further enhance engagement in and preparedness for IPCP, occupational therapy professionals, and students may benefit from interprofessional training that involves the professions most often encountered during clinical practice. This type of learning could foster an understanding of communication and teamwork, thus enhancing readiness to participate in the IPCP team upon transition to practice.

The extended care team for people with multimorbidity as a complex adaptive system: How to raise the adaptability of your own team.

1.Short summary: Rapid changes in healthcare structure and demands require continuous adaptability of healthcare teams. This workshop will describe a case vignette of a patient with multimorbidity to start a theoretically underpinned reflection on how teams can be supported to adapt to changing contexts.
 2.Why: Traditionally healthcare delivery has been structured based on disease-specific guidelines, procedures and teams in which effectiveness and quality of interventions is often measured by means of disease specific clinical outcome indicators defined in disease-specific randomized clinical trials. However, for people with a combination of disorders or with a complex context, outcomes are often a lot more uncertain. In addition, patients with multimorbidity are often followed by different professionals in different healthcare and welfare services, each with their own perspective and priorities. Therefore, interprofessional healthcare teams often operate in complex situations. Moreover, they tend to operate in fragmented order throughout different primary and secondary healthcare and welfare services. Complexity science has been introduced in healthcare as a theoretical framework to better understand complex situations. Interdisciplinary healthcare teams can be viewed as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) by focusing more on the team members' interactions than on the characteristics of individual team members. Viewing teams in this way can provide us with insights into the origins of team behavior. Insights that can be supportive to improved team functioning and improved integrated care.
 3.Audience: Clinicians, teamleaders, managers
 
 Structure (90')
 
 Introduction (10') on changes in population needs (e.g. multimorbidity) and healthcare delivery (e.g. interprofessional collaboration) including the related challenges. The need for optimizing the adaptability of clinical teams towards this changing working context will be emphasized as focus of the workshop. Theoretical background on complexity science as a lens to better understand working in VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) conditions
 Group work (30') A case vignette will be provided of a patient with multimorbidity taken care of by a multiprofessional team. Based on the case vignette participants will fill in the CAL questionnaire (Complex Adaptive Leadership Organisational Capability Questionnaire). Group discussion on the meaning of the scores will be guided by the moderators
 Theory (10')The constructs of the Questionnaire will be explained and the use of the questionnaire as a monitoring tool during team transitions will be discussed
 Group work (10') discuss/brainstorm about strategies to influence the topics defined in the different questions of the questionnaire.
 Reporting back (20') small groups will report back about the strategies they have defined for each question.
 Wrap up and key messages (10') Two minutes of repetition of the theoretical principles of complexity science in healthcare by the moderators. Group formulation of preferred strategies defined during the workshop to optimize the adaptability of clinical teams in working with complex patients
 5.How to engage
 Small group discussions – plenary discussions
 Case vignette – clinical reflection – brainstorm
 Dscussion on transferability of ideas to real world situation
 6.Take home messages?
 Partly by moderators, partly by participants
 One pager with theoretical underpinning + further reading suggestions will be provided

Relationship between Interprofessional Communication and Health Care Team Collaboration

Relationship between Interprofessional Communication and Health Care Team Collaboration

Expanding general practice with interprofessional teams: a mixed-methods patient perspective study

BackgroundAcross healthcare systems, current health policies promote interprofessional teamwork. Compared to single-profession general practitioner care, interprofessional primary healthcare teams are expected to possess added capacity to care for an increasingly complex patient population. This study aims to explore patients’ experiences when their usual primary healthcare encounter with general practice shifts from single-profession general practitioner care to interprofessional team-based care.MethodsQualitative and quantitative data were collected through interviews and a survey among Norwegian patients. The interviews included ten patients (five women and five men) aged between 28 and 89, and four next of kin (all women). The qualitative analysis was carried out using thematic analysis and a continuity framework. The survey included 287 respondents, comprising 58 per cent female and 42 per cent male participants, aged 18 years and above. The respondents exhibited multiple diagnoses and often a lengthy history of illness. All participants experienced the transition to interprofessional teamwork at their general practitioner surgery as part of a primary healthcare team pilot.ResultsThe interviewees described team-based care as more fitting and better coordinated, including more time and more learning than with single-profession general practitioner care. Most survey respondents experienced improvements in understanding and mastering their health problems.Multi-morbid elderly interviewees and interviewees with mental illness shared experiences of improved information continuity. They found that important concerns they had raised with the nurse were known to the general practitioner and vice versa.None of the interviewees expressed dissatisfaction with the inclusion of a nurse in their general practitioner relationship. Several interviewees noted improved access to care. The nurse was seen as a strengthening link to the general practitioner. The survey respondents expressed strong agreement with being followed up by a nurse. The interviewees trusted that it was their general practitioner who controlled what happened to them in the general practitioner surgery.ConclusionFrom the patients’ perspective, interprofessional teamwork in general practice can strengthen management, informational, and relational continuity. However, a prerequisite seems to be a clear general practitioner presence in the team.

Using a knowledge translation framework for effective interprofessional leadership: A nursing student perspective

Nurses have an essential leadership role in the healthcare system. As leaders, nurses are critical to the interprofessional healthcare team's ability to achieve positive system functioning and optimal patient care outcomes. Effective nurse leadership is important as contemporary challenges of global health management emerge. Development of leadership skills must begin early in the education of undergraduate nurses, as effective leadership skills are crucial throughout all levels of the nursing profession. It is essential that practicing registered nurses role model leadership and support opportunities for undergraduate nurses to develop leadership skills. This paper aims to share the importance of introducing and implementing leadership practice resources that foster effective leadership for undergraduate nursing students.

Effectiveness and feasibility of an interprofessional training program to improve patient safety-A cluster-randomized controlled pilot study.

Interprofessional healthcare teams are important actors in improving patient safety. To train these teams, an interprofessional training program (IPTP) with two interventions (eLearning and blended learning) was developed to cover key areas of patient safety using innovative adult learning methods. The aims of this study were to pilot test IPTP regarding its effectiveness and feasibility. The trial was registered with DRKS-ID: DRKS00012818. The design of our study included both a pilot investigation of the effectiveness of the two interventions (eLearning and blended learning) and testing their feasibility (effectiveness-implementation hybrid design). For testing the effectiveness, a multi-center cluster-randomized controlled study with a three-arm design [intervention group 1 (IG1): eLearning vs. intervention group 2 (IG2)]: blended learning (eLearning plus interprofessional in-person training) vs. waiting control group (WCG) and three data collection periods (pre-intervention, 12 weeks post-intervention, and 24 weeks follow-up) was conducted in 39 hospital wards. Linear mixed models were used for the data analysis. The feasibility of IPTP was examined in 10 hospital wards (IG1) and in nine hospital wards (IG2) using questionnaires (formative evaluation) and problem-focused interviews with 10% of the participants in the two intervention groups. The collected data were analyzed in a descriptive exploratory manner. Pilot testing of the effectiveness of the two interventions (eLearning and blended learning) showed no consistent differences between groups or a clear pattern in the different outcomes (safety-related behaviors in the fields of teamwork, error management, patient involvement, and subjectively perceived patient safety). Feasibility checks of the interventions showed that participants used eLearning for knowledge activation and self-reflection. However, there were many barriers to participating in eLearning, for example, lack of time or access to computers at the ward. With regard to in-person training, participants stated that the training content sensitized them to patient-safety-related issues in their everyday work, and that awareness of patient safety increased. Although the interventions were judged to be feasible, no consistent effects were observed. A possible explanation is that the duration of training and the recurrence rate may have been insufficient. Another conceivable explanation would be that participants became more sensitive to patient safety-critical situations due to their knowledge acquired through the IPTP; therefore, their assessment post-intervention was more critical than before. In addition, the participants reported high pre-measurement outcomes. Future studies should examine the evidence of the intervention within a confirmatory study after adapting it based on the results obtained.

Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching: An Interprofessional Course for Pharmacy, Medical, and Dietetic Students.

Background Poor nutrition and lifestyle choices are major contributors to the development and progression of various chronic diseases. Enhancing patients' awareness of healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits by interprofessional healthcare teams can play a significant role in tackling many chronic diseases, particularly in underserved communities with inequitable access to healthcare and educational opportunities. However, healthcare professionals are not adequately prepared to provide effective, culturally competent nutrition and lifestyle coaching due to a lack of emphasis on these topics in the curricula of many healthcare professional programs. Objective This study introduces a virtual, interprofessional, team-based elective course to address the curricular gap in nutrition education among healthcare professional programs. Methods Quantitative and qualitative pre-/post-surveys were utilized to evaluate course impact on student's knowledge, confidence in coaching families, and interprofessional competencies. Quantitative pre-/post-training scores were analyzed by a two-tailed, Mann-Whitney test, where P < 0.05 indicated a significant difference. Additionally, student learning outcomes were assessed using readiness assurance testsand application exercises, along with end-of-course presentations and mock interviews. Results Pre-/post-course assessments (n = 16) demonstrated significant improvement in students' confidence in coaching families (20%; P = 0.01) and knowledge of coaching curriculum (87%; P < 0.001). Improvement in different interprofessional competencies ranged between 15% (P = 0.002) and 46% (P < 0.001). Course material/activities, facilitation, impact on learning new knowledge/skills/mindset, and application in future practice were applauded by 81-94% of students. Conclusion Positive outcomes of this course encourage future offerings and systematic incorporation of similar training in healthcare professional programs to prepare clinicians capable of transforming lives through interprofessional, patient-centered nutrition and lifestyle coaching.

Surgical Safety Does Not Happen By Accident: Learning From Perioperative Near Miss Case Studies

Adverse surgical events cause negative patient health outcomes and harm that can often overshadow the safe and effective patient care provided daily by nurses as members of interprofessional healthcare teams. Near misses occur far more frequently than adverse events and are less visible to nurse leaders because patient harm is avoided due to chance, prevention, or mitigation. However, near misses have comparable root causes to adverse events and exhibit the same underlying patterns of failure. Reviewing near misses provides nurses with learning opportunities to identify patient care weaknesses and build appropriate solutions to enhance care. As the operating room is one of the most complex work settings in healthcare, identifying potential weaknesses or sources for errors is vital to reduce healthcare-associated risks for patients and staff. The purpose of this manuscript is to educate, inform, and stimulate critical thinking by discussing perioperative near miss case studies and the underlying factors that lead to errors. Our authors discuss 15 near miss case studies occurring across the perioperative patient experience of care and discuss barriers to near miss reporting. Nurse leaders can use our case studies to stimulate discussion among perioperative and perianesthesia nurses in their hospitals to inform comprehensive risk reduction programs.

Development of a Preventive Health Screening Procedure Enabling Supportive Service Planning for Home-Dwelling Older Adults (PORI75): Protocol for an Action Research Study.

In Finland, at least 1 in 4 residents will be >75 years of age in 2030. The national aging policy has emphasized the need to improve supportive services to enable older people to live in their own homes for as long as possible. This study aimed to develop a preventive health screening procedure for home-dwelling older adults aged 75 years to enable the use of clinical patient data for purposes of strategic planning of supportive services in primary care. The action research method was applied to develop the health screening procedure with selected validated health measures in cooperation with the local practicing interprofessional health care teams from 10 primary care centers in the Social Security Center of Pori, Western Finland (99,485 residents, n=11,938, 12% of them >75 years). The selection of evidence-based validated health measures was based on the national guide to screen factors increasing fall risk and the national functioning measures database. The cut-off points of the selected health measures and laboratory tests were determined in consecutive consensus meetings with the local primary care physicians, with decisions based on internationally validated measures, national current care guidelines, and local policies in clinical practice. The health screening procedure for 75-year-old residents comprised 30 measures divided into three categories: (1) validated self-assessments (9 measures), (2) nurse-conducted screenings (14 measures), and (3) laboratory tests (7 measures). The procedure development process comprised the following steps: (1) inventory and selection of the validated health measures and laboratory tests, (2) training of practical nurses to perform screenings for the segment of 75-year-old residents and to guide them to possible further medical actions, (3) creation of research data from clinical patient data for secondary use purposes, (4) secondary data analysis, and (5) consensus meeting after the pilot test of the health screening procedure for 75-year-old residents procedure in 2019 based on the experiences of health care professionals and collected research data. The developed preventive health screening procedure for 75-year-old residents enables the use of clinical patient data for purposes of strategic planning of supportive services in primary care if the potential bias by a low participation rate is controlled. DERR1-10.2196/48753.

Followership in interprofessional healthcare teams: a state-of-the-art narrative review

ObjectiveA state-of-the-art (SotA) literature review—a type of narrative review— was conducted to answer: What historical developments led to current conceptualisations of followership in interprofessional healthcare teams (IHTs)?DesignWorking from a constructivist...

Protecting Personhood: A Classic Grounded Theory.

The importance of perceiving and considering patients as healthcare partners has been increasingly promoted. Healthcare systems around the world are now highly interested in patient engagement, participation, collaboration, and partnership. Healthcare professionals are advised that patients, as autonomous beings, should be active in and responsible for a portion of their own care. The study presented here focused on patients' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration. It was conducted using the classic grounded theory methodology. The theory of protecting personhood emerged as the core concept of hospitalized patients, cared for by interprofessional healthcare teams. This theory encapsulates the process hospitalized patients go through to find balance in their sense of self, oscillating between personhood and patienthood in the unfamiliar hospital environment. The process consists of four stages: the stage of introspection, during which hospitalized patients become aware of their self as a person and as a patient; the stage of preservation, when patients find a balance between the sense of personhood and patienthood; the stage of rupture, wherein patients experience an imbalance between their sense of personhood and patienthood; and the stage of reconciliation, in which personhood is restored. The theory of protecting personhood offers insights into a better understanding of hospitalized patients' experiences and strategies, revealing the importance of relationships, and the driving force of empowerment. This study is about patients' perspectives of interprofessional healthcare teams. A grounded theory process allowed the emergence of patients' concerns and expectations, leading to a substantive theory grounded in the patients' data.

Interprofessional Team Collaboration for Routine and Emergent Mental Health Concerns Among Collegiate Student-Athletes: A Case Series.

Collegiate student-athletes experience an increasing number of mental health concerns. To help address these concerns and provide high quality healthcare for student-athletes, institutions of higher education are being encouraged to create interprofessional healthcare teams that are specifically dedicated to managing mental health. We interviewed three interprofessional healthcare teams who collaborate to manage routine and emergency mental health conditions in collegiate student-athletes. Teams were representative across all three National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) divisions and included athletic trainers, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, dieticians and nutritionists, social workers, nurses, and physician assistants (associates). The interprofessional teams indicated the existing NCAA recommendations helped to solidify members and roles of the mental healthcare team; however they all indicated their teams would benefit from more counselors and psychiatrists. Teams shared different mechanisms for referral and accessing mental health resources on their campuses, which may make on-the-job training for new members of the team an organizational necessity.

Interprofessional Team Conflict Resolution: A Critical Literature Review.

Although concern related to conflicts within health care teams has been discussed in the literature, most studies have focused on individuals' personal conflict management style identification or on managers resolving workplace conflicts between parties. The purpose of this review was to identify significant components in the field of conflict with particular attention to conceptual findings that may be integrated into understanding interprofessional health care team conflict and its resolution. A critical review of the conflict literature across many fields was undertaken using the method identified by Grant and Booth, incorporating literature-search, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis. This critical review explored existing models and schools of thought to provide an overview of how conflict is conceptualized, its focus on interpersonal and workplace issues, team conflict application and training in team conflict resolution, and finally a summary of this review's contribution to interprofessional health care team conflict and its resolution. Team conflict is comprised of three forms-relationship, task, and process. When team building occurs that incorporates training in the use of an adapted constructive controversy approach, there is a greater opportunity to enhance the quality of a cooperative approach to patients' care planning. Training in team conflict resolution is needed as a key ingredient to ensure all team members can enhance the effectiveness and quality of interprofessional client-centered collaborative practice. This benefits not only the health providers in the team, but also their clients/patients who are recipients of their shared teamwork.

Social support moderates the relationship between burnout and job satisfaction in aerodigestive team members

Burnout among healthcare workers is a public health crisis. Burnout is associated with elevated cynicism, emotional exhaustion, and low job satisfaction. Methods to combat burnout have been challenging to identify. Based on positive experiences of pediatric aerodigestive team members, we hypothesized that social support in multidisciplinary aerodigestive teams moderates the effects of burnout on job satisfaction.Using a survey of the Aerodigestive Society, members of Aerodigestive teams (N = 119) completed demographics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and measures of job satisfaction, emotional, and instrumental social support. In addition to assessing relationships between components of burnout and job satisfaction, six tests were conducted using PROCESS to ascertain the degree to which social support moderated these relationships.Similar to US healthcare base rates, burnout scores in this sample suggest that a third-to-half felt Emotionally Exhausted and Burned Out from work "A few times a month"-to-"Every Day." Simultaneously, however, the majority in sample (60.6%) noted feeling that they "positively impact others' lives" with 33.3% endorsing "Every Day." Job satisfaction was strikingly high at 89%, with most reporting Aerodigestive team affiliation related to higher job satisfaction. Both Emotional and Instrumental social support moderated the effect of Cynicism and Emotional Exhaustion on Job Satisfaction, with higher Job Satisfaction scores in conditions of high support.These results support the hypothesis that social support from a multidisciplinary aerodigestive team moderates the effect of burnout in its team members. Further work is needed to understand if membership in other interprofessional healthcare teams can help combat the negative effects of burnout.

Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Health Care Teams in a Regional Cancer Institute: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

ObjectivesOncology is a rapidly changing clinical setting. Research has shown improved patient outcomes and staff satisfaction following interprofessional collaborative education, but there has been limited research on perceptions of interprofessional collaboration among oncology health care professionals. The aims of this study were to: 1) assess attitudes of health care professionals toward interprofessional teams in oncology care, and 2) assess for differences in attitudes across various demographic and workplace groups. Data SourcesThe research design was an electronic cross-sectional survey. The main instrument utilized was the Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Health Care Teams (ATIHCT) survey. A total of 187 oncology health care professionals from a regional New England cancer institute completed the survey. The ATIHCT mean score was high (M = 4.07, SD = 0.51). Analysis revealed statistically significant differences in mean score among participant age groups (P = .03). Significant differences (P = .01) were also noted between different professional groups and their time constraints sub-scale score on the ATIHCT scale. A higher mean score occurred in participants who had a current certification (M = 4.13, SD = 0.50) compared to those without (M = 4.05, SD = 0.46). ConclusionHigh overall scores in attitudes toward health care teams suggest that cancer care settings are primed for interprofessional care model implementation. Future studies should examine strategies to improve attitudes among specific groups. Implications for Nursing PracticeNurses are in a position to lead interprofessional teamwork in the clinical setting. Further research is necessary to examine best collaborative models in health care to support interprofessional teamwork.

‘Equipping health care partners to be better team members; A qualitative exploration of interprofessional education and practice in a Danish elite athletic health and performance practice context’

BackgroundIn high-stakes contexts, sporting organisations commonly employ interprofessional healthcare teams. Yet, it is currently unclear how team-oriented teaching and learning might be structured to help deliver superior outcomes in athlete health and performance. PurposeTo explore whether interprofessional education (IPE) currently exists within a high-stakes interprofessional practice (IPP) environment and how a learning community of athlete-focused health care practitioners inform and develop their own practice. MethodAn explorative qualitative, single case study was conducted, the unit of analysis being a Danish premiere league football club's health care team. Results, discussion and conclusionsA thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data revealed that IPE exists mainly as an informal/hidden curriculum. Key educational competencies were developed through a community of practice with IPP; mainly through peer learning and mentorship activities. These findings highlight an underdeveloped and potentially important area of focus for interprofessional education and practice in the context of elite athletic health and performance practice.

Interprofessional Experiences of Family Nurse Practitioner Students During a Military Field Practicum.

Team building is a real-world necessity in military and civilian health care settings. Interprofessional education (IPE) is therefore an essential component of health care education. At the Uniformed Services University, there are continued, deliberate attempts for IPE to occur to successfully prepare students to work together and adapt to ever-changing contexts. Although past quantitative research has analyzed interprofessional collaboration among military medical students, this study explores the interprofessional experiences of family nurse practitioner (FNP) students during a military medical field practicum. This study was reviewed by the Uniformed Services University Human Research Protections Program Office (Protocol DBS.2021.257). We used the qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach to design our study. We analyzed the reflection papers of 20 family nurse practitioner students who participated in Operation Bushmaster in order to explore their interprofessional experiences. Our research team coded and categorized the data, developing textural and structural descriptions of these categories, which served as the results of our study. We present the study's three key findings that students expressed and include perspectives from their viewpoints to illustrate each theme. The three themes related to IPE are (1) quality of integration determines perception of experience, (2) challenges inspire continued growth, and (3) increased self-awareness of one's own strengths. It is important for educators and leaders to find ways to allow for positive team integration and cohesion so that students do not feel overwhelmed by their perceived lack of knowledge or experience. Educators can use that perception to motivate a growth mindset so that they can continually seek out ways to improve and grow. Additionally, educators can prepare students with adequate knowledge to ensure that each team member meets mission success. Finally, to continually develop, students need to have awareness of their own strengths as well as areas for growth to enhance their own performance as well as that of the military interprofessional health care teams.