Interprofessional Research Articles

Interprofessional practice education: is the 'interprofessional' component relevant to recruiting new graduates to underserved areas?

Globally, there has been a serious health human resource (HHR) shortage for underserved populations in and outside of urban centers. This article focuses on practice education, specifically interprofessional (IP) practice education, and its impact on recruiting new health sciences graduates to populations in underserved areas as an important HHR outcome. The authors reviewed 16 articles on prelicensure practice education to identify whether (1) IP practice education is a successful recruitment strategy to for graduates to underserved communities and (2) the IP component provides an important recruitment incentive over uniprofessional practice education. A scoping review was conducted for the time period from 2004 to 2012 yielding 1245 articles of which 16 studies were selected for this review. Out of these 16 studies, the following HHR outcomes were reported: practice uptake by new graduates with underserved populations (eight studies), interest in working with underserved populations after graduation (eight studies), and residency requests for IP sites (three studies). These results show that IP practice education has a modest influence on recruitment to underserved areas. The impact of the IP component as an added recruitment incentive over practice education alone was not assessed in any study. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether the IP component offers an added benefit to successful recruitment. Given the shortage of healthcare providers in rural and urban underserved populations, innovative recruitment and retention strategies to these areas must be developed and evaluated. This review of the literature suggests that IP practice education experiences offered to students may influence their first place of employment at graduation, especially in rural and urban primary care specialities involving underserved populations. The existing evidence is not strong; recommendations for future research include describing the IP practice education interventions in greater detail, designing longitudinal studies tracking all former students in such programs, and developing methodologically and theoretically rigorous intervention studies to measure the impact of the IP component as an added recruitment incentive over uniprofessional practice education experiences.

Student experience of the Health Care Team Challenge™: long-term case competition can improve student competence in interprofessional collaboration

In Ontario, recent policy documents have considered interprofessional (IP) care as one of the cornerstones of the health care system.1,2 Nevertheless, many healthcare workers lack awareness about how to work effectively in IP teams, and hence fail to fully capitalize on its benefits.3 To improve competency in collaboration, Canadian health sciences programs have widely introduced IP education as part of their curricula. One IP education strategy is the Health Care Team Challenge (HCTC), a multidisciplinary case competition.4,5 Recent reports have identified key characteristics from an organizer’s point of view,6,7 and have shown statistically significant improvement in students’ attitudes towards IP collaboration.7 Nevertheless, there has been little formal feedback from the participants’ perspective. Unanswered questions include the process of team development and learning for students, and whether the HCTC influences students’ attitudes towards IP collaboration.6 As a group of professional trainees and a faculty mentor (with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy), we report on our experience working as an IP team during the 2011–2012 regional and national Canadian HCTC competitions.

Exposure and attitudes toward interprofessional teams: a three-year prospective study of longitudinal integrated clerkship versus rotation-based clerkship students

This study explored exposure to, and attitudes toward, interprofessional (IP) teams between third-year longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) and traditional rotation-based clerkship (RBC) students at the University of Calgary medical school. Students completed a survey pre-post 32-week LIC or 6-week rural, regional or urban RBC family medicine rotations. Pre and post rotation surveys were completed by 213 (48%) students (LIC = 33/34; rural = 76/152; regional = 24/46; urban = 80/208). More LIC students (76%) reported participating on six or more IP teams than RBC students (rural = 38%; regional = 25%; urban = 21%). At pre rotation, the mean attitude to IP teams score of LIC and rural RBC students was high and did not differ. At post rotation, the mean attitude score of LIC students was significantly greater than the mean reported by rural RBC students. Only LIC students reported a significant pre-post rotation increase in attitude. Exposure to IP teams, possibly facilitated by a longer duration of rotation, appears to be an important factor in affecting attitude to IP teams.

Interprofessional Teamwork Among Students in Simulated Codes: A Quasi-Experimental Study

AIM The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using crisis resource management (CRM) principles and high-fidelity human patient simulation (HFHPS) for interprofessional (IP) team training of students from undergraduate nursing, nurse anesthesia, medical, and respiratory therapy. BACKGROUND IP education using simulation-based training has the potential to transform education by improving teamwork and communication and breaking down silos in education. METHOD This one-year study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate students' acquisition and retention of teamwork and communication skills. A convenience sample consisted of 52 students in the fall semester, with 40 students returning in the spring. RESULTS Mean scores increased after training, and skills were retained fairly well. Any loss was regained with repeat training in the spring. CONCLUSION The results suggest that using CRM and HFHPS is an effective pedagogy for teaching communication and teamwork skills to IP student teams.

Interprofessional Teamwork Among Students in Simulated Codes: A Quasi-Experimental Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using crisis resource management (CRM) principles and high-fidelity human patient simulation (HFHPS) for interprofessional (IP) team training of students from undergraduate nursing, nurse anesthesia, medical, and respiratory therapy. IP education using simulation-based training has the potential to transform education by improving teamwork and communication and breaking down silos in education. This one-year study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate students' acquisition and retention of teamwork and communication skills. A convenience sample consisted of 52 students in the fall semester, with 40 students returning in the spring. Mean scores increased after training, and skills were retained fairly well. Any loss was regained with repeat training in the spring. The results suggest that using CRM and HFHPS is an effective pedagogy for teaching communication and teamwork skills to IP student teams.

Inter-Professional Clinical Placements as a Recruitment Strategy in Geriatrics: Survey of Students’ Perceptions

Inter-professional (IP) education and clinical placements have been identified as educational recruitment strategies to address the health workforce shortage. The research question in this secondary analysis study was, "What are students' attitudes toward working in geriatric environments and as part of inter-professional collaborative teams?" A five-item survey was administered to 47 pre-licensure learners from five different health professional programs (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physical therapy). Findings suggest that students want to practise on IP teams, which may influence their graduate first choice of employment. Although stronger evidence is required, offering IP clinical placements may be an important recruitment strategy, especially for those sites traditionally deemed less desirable.

Health Care Team Challenges: an international review and research agenda

Academic institutions worldwide have been tasked with embedding interprofessional education (IPE) into the curricula of health and human service professions. There are few internationally shared examples of interprofessional (IP) learning activities reported in the literature. This report describes the formation of an international IPE research network and provides a summary of the implementation and evaluation of one such shared IPE example, the Health Care Team Challenge™ (HCTC™). We outline the format, key features and evaluation strategies of the HCTC™ IPE. An international research agenda to test cases and assess learning processes are described, and directions for dissemination and sustainability are proposed.

Advancing interprofessional education through the use of high fidelity human patient simulators

Modern medical care increasingly requires coordinated teamwork and communication between healthcare professionals of different disciplines. Unfortunately, healthcare professional students are rarely afforded the opportunity to learn effective methods of interprofessional (IP) communication and teamwork strategies during their education. The question of how to best incorporate IP interactions in the curricula of the schools of health professions remains unanswered. We aim to solve the lack of IP education in the pharmacy curricula through the use of high fidelity simulation (HFS) to allow teams of medical, pharmacy, nursing, physician assistant, and social work students to work together in a controlled environment to solve cases of complex medical and social issues. Once weekly for a 4-week time period, students worked together to complete complex simulation scenarios in small IP teams consisting of pharmacy, medical, nursing, social work, and physician assistant students. Student perception of the use of HFS was evaluated by a survey given at the conclusion of the HFS sessions. Team communication was evaluated through the use of Communication and Teamwork Skills (CATS) Assessment by 2 independent evaluators external to the project. The CATS scores improved from the HFS sessions 1 to 2 (p = 0.01), 2 to 3 (p = 0.035), and overall from 1 to 4 (p = 0.001). The inter-rater reliability between evaluators was high (0.85, 95% CI 0.71, 0.99). Students perceived the HFS improved: their ability to communicate with other professionals (median =4); confidence in patient care in an IP team (median=4). It also stimulated student interest in IP work (median=4.5), and was an efficient use of student time (median=4.5). The use of HFS improved student teamwork and communication and was an accepted teaching modality. This method of exposing students of the health sciences to IP care should be incorporated throughout the curricula.

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

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

Interprofessional Shared Decision Making in the NICU: A Survey of an Interprofessional Healthcare Team

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine how different membersof an interprofessional (IP) team (nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, and other professionals) perceived collaboration and satisfaction with the decisionmaking process across three decision types (triage, chronic condition management, values-sensitive decisions) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Methods and Findings: All members of the team at a tertiary NICU in Canada who consented to the study received a modified version of the Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions (CSACD) instrument. A total of 96 completed surveys were returned (response rate of 81.4). Collaboration scores were calculatedfor each participant, professional group, and the IP team. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between perceived collaboration about decision making and satisfaction with the decision-making process. Inter-group comparisons across different decision types were also calculated. The majority of statistically significant differences in professional perspectives about decision making were about triage decisions. Nurses and respiratory therapists were more likely than other groups to feel the decision-making process was inadequate. There was a strong, positive correlation between perceived collaboration in decision making, satisfaction with the decision-making process, and satisfaction with the decision.Conclusions: Findings from this survey suggest that healthcare professionals' views differ about what constitutes optimum interprofessional shared decision making(IPSDM), and the decision type is an important influencing factor for IPSDM.

Interprofessional working in acute care

This paper describes the development and implementation of an interprofessional (IP) module for pre-qualification medical, nursing and physiotherapy students. The module focuses on clinical care in the acute care setting, and is called Interprofessional Working in Acute Care (IWAC). The authors are acute-care practitioners and educators familiar with an environment where good interprofessional collaboration and communication are prerequisite for, and linked to, good patient outcomes. We believe that explicit opportunities to learn the skills of collaborative IP working are required. We developed a blended-learning 15-credit module that was vertically integrated into the existing curricula of the three programmes. It used several different types of learning: self-directed learning; in-practice teaching; clinical observation; simulation-based teaching (SBT); and collaborative peer-group working and student presentations. The contact teaching time had to be limited because of the constraints of three divergent timetables, and was dominated by SBT that featured four acute care scenarios. The scenarios were formulated so that they could not be managed without interprofessional collaboration. Each student was assigned to an IP group (comprising at least one student from each discipline) for the whole module. A common assessment included a collaborative presentation by each IP group where members were expected to discuss and reflect upon the role of a different professional within their group. This narrative account exhibits our development of teaching praxis in the story of teaching innovation, and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities within IP learning in undergraduate education.

The PEEER Model: Effective Healthcare Team-Patient Communications

OPEN ACCESSMarch 8, 2013The PEEER Model: Effective Healthcare Team-Patient Communications Rosemarie Conigliaro, MD, Janice Kuperstein, Jennifer Dupuis, Darlene Welsh, Stacy Taylor, Donna Weber, Mikael Jones Rosemarie Conigliaro, MD Albert Einstein COM/Montefiore Medical Center Google Scholar More articles by this author , Janice Kuperstein University of Kentucky Google Scholar More articles by this author , Jennifer Dupuis University of Kentucky College of of Communication and Information Google Scholar More articles by this author , Darlene Welsh University of Kentucky College of Nursing Google Scholar More articles by this author , Stacy Taylor University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Google Scholar More articles by this author , Donna Weber University of Kentucky College of Medicine Google Scholar More articles by this author , Mikael Jones University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.9360 SectionsAbout ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstract Introduction: This resource exposes learners to the challenges involved in effectively communicating within interprofessional teams and between teams, patients and caregivers, and provides learners with a template for overcoming these challenges and optimizing communication. The PEEER (Plain Language, Engagement, Empathy, Empowerment, Respect) model is a new model, grounded in communication and patient safety literature, to teach interprofessional (IP) communication to professionals who will be working in IP teams, and in IP teams with patients and caregivers. Methods: The resource contains three sets of video clips demonstrating good and bad IP communication skills between health professionals and between health professionals and patients/caregivers. Accompanying these videos are worksheets for learners to critique the videos, and facilitator worksheets with prompts to help lead discussion about the good and bad communication skills demonstrated. Finally, the resource contains a learner postassessment which reflects how well they grasped the model components and concepts, and an evaluation of the process. Additional readings with extensive references are also provided. Results: The PEEER model was incorporated into an existing interprofessional education (IPE) activity with health profession students in either their second year of the doctor of medicine (MD) program, third year of the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program, or fourth year of the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program. The evaluation of the IPE activity was sent to all student participants (119 MD, 124 PharmD, 78 BSN students) and completed surveys were received from 273 of 321 participants (91% MD student response rate, 94% PharmD response rate, 62% BSN response rate). Over 70% of the BSN and PharmD students, and 58% of MD, students agreed or strongly agreed that the PEEER model activity was a valuable education activity. Discussion: The PEEER model can be tailored to complement any curriculum for all levels of learners in any of the health care disciplines. In addition, the PEEER model utilizes communication concepts familiar to most learners and educators, is grounded in the communications literature, and applies those concepts for use in a clinical setting where teams commonly function. The model is easily integrated into either simulated practice (such as in a course) or actual clinical experiences (either inpatient or outpatient situations) and can provide opportunities for the practice and improvement of interprofessional team skills. Educational Objectives By the end of this session, learners will be able to: Identify the unique characteristics of team-patient-caregiver communication in health care.Describe the PEEER Model.Explain the five skill categories needed to achieve effective team-patient-caregiver communication.Recognize and describe examples of effective and ineffective communication when observed.Discuss the use of specific skills to achieve effective communication within teams and with patients and their caregivers. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: Debriefing Wkst-Facilitator Version.docx Instructors Faciliators Guide.docx Learner Debriefing Wkst.docx Learner Post- Exercise Assessment Final.docx PEEER Model Intro Powerpoint .ppt PEEER Model-Skills Definitions.docx Part 1-Ineffective Team Communication 1080HD.mp4 Part 2-Effective Team Communication1080HD.mp4 Part 3-Ineffective Team-Patient Communication.mp4 Part 4-Effective Team-Patient Communication.mp4 Part 5-Ineffective Team-Patient Communication1080HD.mp4 Part 6-Effective Team-Patient Communication1080HD.mp4 Preliminary Evidence of Learning Outcomes.docx References and Further Readings.docx The PEEER Model.docx To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2013 Conigliaro et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.KeywordsEngagementEmpowermenteHealthTeamworkPEEERPlain Language Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...

Current Literature Summary

Evidence-based practice collectively involves research evidence, clinician expertise, and patient preference while making health care decisions. Due to health care reform legislation, there is grea...

Teaching Interprofessionalism to Nursing Students:A Learning Experience Based on Allport's Intergroup Contact Theory

FACULTY SEEKING TO CREATE LEARNING ACTIVITIES THAT FACILITATE EXPOSURE TO AND ENHANCE THE LEARNING OF INTERPROFESSIONAL (IP) HEALTH CARE TEAM BEHAVIORS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN UNDERSTANDING OF GROUP PROCESSES AS ADVOCATED BY SOCIAL SCIENTIST GORDON ALLPORT. In 1954, Allport postulated that prejudice or stereotyping within groups can interfere with the successful functioning of groups, and that just putting individuals together and expecting them to function is not enough (Pettigrew, 1998). Today's nursing students must be academically and experientially prepared to participate in the IP environment in order to assimilate the roles expected by employers and provide the highest quality patient care (Lindqvist & Reeves, 2007; Sullivan & Godfrey, 2012). However, while interprofessionalism is inherent in what nurses do every day in performing their job, there is often little focus on IP within nursing education. As the system of delivery of health care services changes to include the IP health care team process, the educational preparation of health care providers will have to evolve (Gillespie & McFetridge, 2006). This article provides a brief theoretical framework to support the development of team-oriented thinking and behavior through the use of faculty-guided learning experiences whereby nursing students can learn the skills necessary for working in IP health care teams. An example of a learning experience that can take place early in the student's nursing education, in a didactic setting, is provided. Barriers to Interprofessionalism The IP health care team is characterized as a group of health care professionals from various disciplines who share the responsibility of collaborative decision-making to achieve desired patient goals (McCallin & Bamford, 2007). A distinct focus on team-based health care delivery allows this group to address complex patient needs within a structure that also considers the full spectrum of care, including quality of service, its cost, and access to health care. The goal of the team partnership is joint decision-making to achieve patient-centered outcomes using collaborative knowledge, skills, and varied professional perspectives (Jansen, 2008; Johanson, 2008, Royeen, Jensen, & Harvan, 2009). Working under such complex conditions requires collaboration, team decision-making, and assertiveness and self-confidence, as well as a balance between one's profession and the team activities (Atwal & Caldwell, 2006; Kvarnstrom, 2008; Young, Baker, Waller, Hodgson, & Moor, 2007). However, researchers have identified barriers to the team approach, including varying perceptions of teamwork, differing ability levels in team members, stereotyping behaviors, and the potential for one profession, specifically medicine, to exert dominance over the others (Atwal & Caldwell; Gilbert, 2005; Royeen et al., 2009). McCallin and Bamford (2007) suggested that to change stereotypical perceptions attached to other professions, team members use communication techniques such as pluralistic dialoguing, which recognizes and respects the notion that alternative points of view have merit. Participants in this mode of communication are open to various perspectives and have a good understanding of the roles and skills of other practitioners. Interprofessional Education and AIIport's Intergroup Contact Hypothesis In an academic environment that seeks to promote IP education, simply creating a class roster of students from various professions and expecting the students to accept the perspectives of the individual professions represented in the class are not sufficient to create the attitudes necessary to function as an IP team in providing patient care (Lidskog, Lo, Mark, & Ahlstrom, 2007). Allport's intergroup contact hypothesis holds that prejudice can be reduced within and among groups and that there can be positive attitude changes in a group if certain elements exist. …

Inter Professional Education in Health Care

This article is trying to explore the practicality of Inter professional education (IPE) in health care. Studying together with health professional will increase the acceptance of health care by other students. The goal of IPE is for students to learn to function in an interprofessional team, and improve patient outcomes through interprofessional collaboration in their future practices. Inter professional education and inter professional learning are the two terms which are used interchangeably. The author aims to research the promotion of Inter Professional Education among the health care professionals and its role in development of the professionals who can work collaboratively to increase the quality of patient care. This particular paper is focusing on the benefits of inter-professional education for the employers, universities and for the students.

Interprofessional Education (IPE) Activity amongst Health Sciences Students at Sultan Qaboos University: The time is now!

Historically, health professionals have been educated in profession-specific institutions which provide limited opportunities for learning interprofessional (IP) skills. Many qualified practitioners are therefore poorly prepared for the challenges of IP practice (IPP). Patients today have complex needs and typically require more than one professional to address their medical issues and effective IP care relies upon health care professionals' abilities to communicate with one another. Competent communication improves the quality of care, thus enhancing patient outcomes. The objective of IP education (IPE) is to prepare students to deliver IP care in the future. Sultan Qaboos University's medical and nursing colleges train the future health workforce for Oman. However, students have no opportunities for collaborative learning. It is imperative that opportunities be created where students learn with, about, and from each other with the aim of improving the quality of care they are likely to deliver in the future.

Barriers to the management of Heart Failure in Ontario Long-Term Care Homes: an Interprofessional Care perspective

Background: With population aging, the prevalence of heart failure (HF) is risingin long-term care (LTC) homes. Given this burden, there is an urgent need to establish effective HF management programs.Methods and Findings: To understand what barriers would need to be addressed to develop such a program, we conducted a series of consultations among various LTC staff, as well as residents and their family caregivers. This article uses data obtained from the consultations to describe the interprofessional (IP) barriers that exist among the various LTC staff roles. Consultation methods included a Delphi survey followed by focus group interviews of LTC staff, and then personal interviews with LTC residents with HF and their family caregivers. Data were interpreted using an IP care framework in which interpersonal relationships among LTC staff provide the most direct influence on collaborative resident-centred practice, within the broader context of conditions within the LTC home, which in turn are housed in the broader context of systemic determinants.Conclusion: Across all data sets, the most consistently mentioned determinant was communication between the resident and the healthcare team, between different healthcare providers, between shifts, between medical specialists, and between the long-term care home and the hospital.

Toward better care of delirious patients at the end of life: A pilot study of an interprofessional educational intervention

Symptom distress with end-of-life delirium (EOLD) is complex and multidimensional, and interprofessional (IP) teams require knowledge and skill to effectively care for these patients and their families. The purpose of this pilot study was to test an educational intervention about EOLD for IP teams at a long-term care facility and a hospice. The intervention included a comprehensive self-learning module (SLM) on EOLD and IP teamwork; a modified McMaster–Ottawa team objective structured clinical encounter (TOSCE) and a didactic “theory burst” on the principles of delirium assessment, diagnosis and management. Evaluation tools completed by participants included the interprofessional collaborative competencies attainment survey (ICCAS) and the W(e) Learn. Two groups at each site participated in 1-hour sessions, repeated 2 weeks later. Only one group from each site received the SLM after the first session. Researchers scored EOLD knowledge and IP team functioning in both sessions. Results suggest that the intervention improved EOLD knowledge and perceptions of IP competence and supports the value of the TOSCE as an IP teaching method. The module does not appear responsible for the changes. Future studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the individual components used in this study, and to tailor the intervention to individual care contexts.

Promoting Interprofessional Collaboration Through the Co-Curricular Environment

Interprofessional (IP) experiences are increasing in frequency and scope in health professions education, though little is known about the role of the co-curricular environment in fostering students’ attitudes towards IP collaboration. We examined if participants in IP co-curricular activities of substantive duration held attitudes toward IP learning and collaboration differently than students who did not participate in such activities. We distributed a questionnaire composed of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) to the 2008, 2009, and 2010 graduates of an academic health center. Respondents indicated if they participated in any of the six substantive IP co-curricular activities offered by the institution. Respondents were grouped by participation in “one or more IP activity” or “no participation.” Independent sample T-tests were performed for each of the RIPLS and IEPS scales to assess differences between those groups. 997 (58.1%) of the graduates completed the survey; 52.9% of the respondents reporting participation in at least one IP activity. Of the seven scales from the two instruments, the mean scores of one scale were significantly different between the two groups: IEPS “perceived need for cooperation” (p Results indicate that students who have participated in a substantive IP co-curricular activity hold more positive attitudes toward the perceived need for cooperation. It is likely that as a result of their IP collaborative experiences, these students recognize the value and need for cooperation. It appears that important IP collaborative learning occurs within the IP co-curricular environment, and in turn, may translate into improved use of IP collaboration skills in practice.

Can interprofessional collaboration provide health human resources solutions? A knowledge synthesis

Many studies examine the impact of interprofessional (IP) interventions on various health practice and education outcomes. One significant gap is the lack of research on the effects of IP interventions on health human resource (HHR) outcomes. This project synthesized the literature on the impact of IP interventions at the pre- and post-licensure levels on quality workplace, staff satisfaction, recruitment, retention, turnover, choice of employment and cost effectiveness. Forty-one peer-reviewed articles and five IECPCP project reports were included in the review. We found that IP interventions at the post-licensure level improved provider satisfaction and workplace quality. Including IP learning opportunities into practice education in rural communities or in less popular healthcare specialties attracted a higher number of students and therefore may increase employment rates. This area requires more high quality studies to firmly establish the effectiveness of IP interventions in recruiting and retaining future healthcare professionals. There is strong evidence that IP interventions at the post-licensure level reduced patient care costs. The knowledge synthesis has enhanced our understanding of the relationships between IP interventions, IP collaboration and HHR outcomes. Gaps remain in the knowledge of staff retention and determination of staffing costs associated with IP interventions vis-à-vis patient care costs. None of the studies reported long-term data on graduate employment choice, which is essential to fully establish the effectiveness of IP interventions as a HHR recruitment strategy.