Readiness For Interprofessional Learning Research Articles

Understanding students’ readiness for interprofessional learning in an Asian context: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundHealthcare is generally provided by various health professionals acting together. Unfortunately, poor communication and collaboration within such healthcare teams often prevent its members from actively engaging in collaborative decision-making. Interprofessional education (IPE) which prepares health professionals for their collaborative role in the healthcare system may partially address this problem. This study aimed to investigate: 1) students’ readiness for IPE in an Asian context, 2) the most important factors influencing students’ perceptions of IPE, 3) the reasons underlying such perceptions, and 4) the factors mitigating or promoting their sense of readiness.MethodsTo identify students’ perceptions of IPE, we administered the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to 398 in approximately 470 students from a range of health professions (medicine, nursing, midwifery and dentistry). The questionnaire included factors that could potentially influence readiness for IPE as found in the literature (GPA, etc.). To enhance our understanding of the responses to the RIPLS and to explore the reasons underlying them, we conducted 4 mono-professional focus group discussions (FGDs). We ran a statistical analysis on the quantitative data, while performing a thematic content analysis of the qualitative data using ATLAS.ti (version 7).ResultsMedical students seemed to be the most prepared for IPE. Students’ perceptions of IPE were conditioned by the study programme they took, their GPA, intrinsic motivation and engagement in the student council connoting experience of working with students from different programmes. Focus groups further revealed that: 1) early exposure to clinical practice triggered both positive and negative perceptions of IPE and of its importance to learning communication and leadership skills, 2) medical students caused insecurity and disengagement in other students, 3) medical students felt pressured to be leaders, and 4) there was a need to clarify and understand each other’s profession and the boundaries of one’s own profession.ConclusionStudents were generally favourable to IPE, appreciating the opportunity it offered them to hone their interprofessional leadership, collaboration and communication skills and to learn to address the problem of role blurring. Hence, we judge the Asian context ready to implement IPE, allowing health professions students in Asian countries to reap its benefits. The present study revealed several important reasons underlying students’ positive and negative perceptions of IPE implementation which may be addressed during the interprofessional learning process.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0704-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Difference in student pharmacist attitudes and readiness for interprofessional learning after an activity with student nurses

Abstract Background Some research suggests that despite positive attitudes toward IPE at the start of health professions programs, a decline in positivity is often seen. Purpose To determine if there is a difference between student pharmacist and nurse attitudes for interprofessional learning and to determine if readiness scores change for student pharmacists after an IPE experience. Results At baseline, there was no difference in student pharmacists and student nurses RIPLS scores. Post-IPE experience, scores declined significantly (p Conclusion While student pharmacists and student nurses have positive attitudes toward IPE prior to a structured experience, post-experience attitudes toward IPE declines in student pharmacists.

Student perceptions towards interprofessional education: Findings from a longitudinal study based in a Middle Eastern university

ABSTRACTThe Lebanese American University Interprofessional Education (LAU IPE) Steps Framework consists of a five-step workshop-based series that is offered throughout the curriculum of health and social care students at an American university in Lebanon. The aim of the present study was to report students’ perceptions of their readiness for interprofessional learning before and after completing the IPE steps, their evaluations of interprofessional learning outcomes, as well as their satisfaction with the learning experience as a whole. A longitudinal survey design was used: questionnaires were completed by students before IPE exposure and after each step. The results showed that before IPE exposure, students’ perceptions of their readiness for interprofessional learning were generally favourable, with differences across genders (stronger professional identity in females compared to males) and across professions (higher teamwork and collaboration in pharmacy and nutrition students compared to other professions and lower patient centredness in nursing students compared to others). After participation in the IPE steps, students showed enhanced readiness for interprofessional learning and differences between genders and professions decreased. Participants were satisfied with the learning experience and assessment scores showed that all IPE learning outcomes were met. The LAU IPE Steps Framework may be of value to other interprofessional education course developers.

Examining the influence of professional identity formation on the attitudes of students towards interprofessional collaboration

ABSTRACTAn expectation of introductory interprofessional education (IPE) is improvement in attitudes towards other professions. However, the theory surrounding professional identity formation suggests this expectation may be premature. The objective of this study was to quantify first-year health professional students’ attitudes towards their own and other professions and to investigate the relationship between strength of professional identity and attitudes towards other professions and interprofessional learning. Using a pre/post-test design, researchers administered the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) to 864 first-year healthcare students in the Academic Health Center (AHC) at the University of Minnesota. The findings showed a decline in student attitudes towards their own and other professions. Additionally, a positive correlation between a weakened professional identity and readiness for interprofessional learning was demonstrated. This study found that an introductory IPE course did not positively affect student attitudes towards other professions, or strengthen professional identity or readiness for interprofessional learning. Analysis of the findings support the successive stages of professional identity formation.

Development of a Novel Interprofessional Education Activity with Undergraduate Students: Design, Assessment, and Lessons Learned

INTRODUCTION Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential for students in healthcare disciplines to learn skills necessary for collaborative patient care. While IPE is an essential component of health professional training, implementation is challenging. Faculty members from pharmacy, nursing, exercise physiology, and medical laboratory science at a rural, private university developed an IPE activity with the goal of exposing students to interprofessional care. The process of IPE activity development will also be described. METHODS Using a pretest/posttest method, data were collected from two student cohorts (n=411) from four disciplines using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Students worked multidisciplinary teams (n=66) to assess patient cases and design a treatment plan. Responses were evaluated using a common rubric. Student feedback on the activity was also gathered after the activity. RESULTS Students were positively influenced by the exercise. Ten items on the RIPLS had statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest. Students (90.5%) identified the activity improved their understanding of other healthcare disciplines and roles, and 89.7% agreed the activity made them more aware of cultural competency. Common themes of gaining appreciation of teamwork, collaboration to improve patient care, and learning across disciplines emerged from student feedback. Student performance was consistent with academic progression. CONCLUSION IPE activities improved student readiness for interprofessional learning, produced case responses reflective of interprofessional collaboration, and were viewed positively by students. Faculty were able to identify solutions to challenges identified during project implementation providing support for future activities and a template for others developing IPE activities. Received: 01/12/2016 Accepted: 02/26/2016 © 2016 Musser et al. This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. H IP & Development of a Novel Interprofessional Education Activity with Undergraduate Students ORIGINAL THEORY & RESEARCH 2(4):eP1096 | 2 Introduction The health care game is changing. Is your team ready? Competent health professionals are required to work together in complex and dynamic healthcare environments and to collaborate in teams (Hood, Cant, Baulch, Gilbee, Leech, Anderson, & Davies, 2014). Each team member must have clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each discipline and have an understanding of how each team member contributes to patient care (Gillen, Arora, Sanderson, & Turner, 2013). To assist students in developing this understanding, many universities and health care programs have incorporated interprofessional education (IPE) activities into their curriculum. IPE occurs when two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (World Health Organization, 2010). For many, effective collaboration is a learned skill. Members of the healthcare team must practice this skill just as a baseball player practices batting or a basketball team practices offense. While some find this difficult, time consuming, and even counterproductive, practice makes perfect. For undergraduate students to be practice-ready upon graduation, they need knowledge about the principles of good teamwork, to have experienced interprofessional collaboration, and to have been part of a well-functioning health care team (McKinlay, Pullon, & Murdoch, 2014). Exposing future healthcare professionals to IPE at the undergraduate level allows students to develop, practice, and perfect their collaborative skills within a safe and supportive learning environment. At a private, rural Midwestern university, an interdisciplinary team of faculty from pharmacy, nursing, exercise physiology, and medical laboratory science (MLS) worked together to develop and implement activities for students to work collaboratively through cultural healthcare cases. Goals for the activities included exposing students to other healthcare disciplines, improving curricular connectivity, and practicing communication and decision making within teams. The IPE activity was assessed to determine 1) students’ readiness for IPE before and after the exercise using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS); 2) student perceptions about the activity; 3) students’ performance on the case. Provided as a template for IPE developers, this article also discusses activity design and lessons learned during the implementation process.

A national study of paramedic and nursing students' readiness for interprofessional learning (IPL): Results from nine universities

The development of successful and functional interprofessional practice is best achieved through interprofessional learning (IPL). Given that many paramedic programmes still take an isolative uni-professional educational approach to their undergraduate courses, it is unclear on their preparedness for students' IPL. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the attitudes of undergraduate paramedic and nursing/paramedic students from nine Australian universities towards IPL over a two year period. Using a convenience sample of paramedic and nursing/paramedic students-attitudes towards IPL was measured using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) 5-point Likert-scale (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree). A total of 1264 students participated (n=303 in 2011 and n=961 in 2012) in this study, consistent with a 43% response rate. Surveyed students were predominantly first year n=506 (40.03%), female n=748 (59.2%) and undertaking single paramedic degrees n=948 (75.0%). Nursing/paramedic students demonstrated significantly lower Negative Professional Identity (M=6.26, p=0.004) and Roles and Responsibilities means (M=6.87, p<0.0001) and higher Positive Professional Identity means (M=15.68, p=0.011) compared with paramedic students. The impact of nursing/paramedic education was shown to significantly enhance student attitudes towards interprofessionalism and the individual universities involved in this study generated students at varying stages of IPL preparedness. Students' year level appeared to influence IPL readiness, yet there are compelling paradoxical arguments for both earlier and later inclusion of IPL within curricula.

Promoting reflection by using contextual activity sampling: a study on students’ interprofessional learning

Students’ engagement and reflection on learning activities are important during interprofessional clinical practice. The contextual activity sampling system (CASS) is a methodology designed for collecting data on experiences of ongoing activities by frequent distribution of questionnaires via mobile phones. The aim of this study was to investigate if the use of the CASS methodology affected students’ experiences of their learning activities, readiness for interprofessional learning, academic emotions and experiences of interprofessional team collaboration. Student teams, consisting of 33 students in total from four different healthcare programs, were randomized into an intervention group that used CASS or into a control group that did not use CASS. Both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) data were collected. The results showed that students in the intervention group rated teamwork and collaboration significantly higher after than before the course, which was not the case in the control group. On the other hand, the control group reported experiencing more stress than the intervention group. The qualitative data showed that CASS seemed to support reflection and also have a positive impact on students’ experiences of ongoing learning activities and interprofessional collaboration. In conclusion, the CASS methodology provides support for students in their understanding of interprofessional teamwork.

Collaborative Learning in Maternity and Child Health Clinics

The health and wellbeing problems of the families with children have become more complex today. Improving preventive services and facilitating an early intervention in health and wellbeing problems of the families are the main challenges. A better interprofessional collaboration (IPC) of the professionals is needed to maintain the well-being level of the families high. These are skills to be learned during undergraduate education. An interprofessional pair training (IPT) for maternity and child health clinics was implemented in collaboration with primary health care centre and two universities of Oulu to develop an interprofessional education (IPE) model for undergraduate level students. Fifth year medical students (n = 101) and fourth year public health nurses (n = 31) and teachers participated in the training program during 2010-2012. The study aimed at investigating students’ attitudes and readiness for interprofessional learning (IPL), at strengthening their professional skills and at gathering clients’ experiences. The interprofessional student pairs met with the client visits independently. One pair contacted three clients during the day. They examined and observed the examination of the other pair. The feedback was collected from the students and the clients. Students’ attitudes and readiness for IPL were assessed using RIPLS (Readiness for interprofessional learning scale). Both medical and nurse students attached great importance to teamwork and collaboration. Nurse students appreciated the learning of roles and responsibilities more important in comparison to the medical students. A tendency for stronger professional identity among medical student was noted. The clients’ expectations were fulfilled. The training periods gave valuable experience to develop IP pair training for collaborative practices in primary health care and undergraduate health care education. The study results are important for curriculum development as well.

Can a single brief intervention improve participants’ readiness for interprofessional learning?

Interprofessional learning (IPL) was introduced for University of Nottingham 3rd year medical and nursing students at the Lincoln County Hospital. An evaluation of the subsequently implemented IPL intervention allowed us to ask the research question: can a single brief IPL intervention improve attitudes to IPL? A low fidelity simulation intervention was chosen as the mode of IPL, focusing on teamwork in the context of the assessment of the acutely ill patient. To assess the intervention’s effect on students’ attitudes, a validated questionnaire (RIPLS) was completed before and after the session. Nine of the nineteen questions in RIPLS had significantly different responses following the intervention. This reflected a more positive attitude to IPL following the intervention. This evaluation of this intervention suggests that IPL is valued by students and significantly improves attitudes to IPL, at least in the immediate post-intervention period.

Readiness for interprofessional learning: a cross-faculty comparison between architecture and occupational therapy students

Health and wellbeing includes a need for built environments to accommodate and be inclusive of the broadest range of people and a corresponding need to ensure graduates are ready to engage in this field of interprofessional and inter-industry practise. All too often, interprofessional education in higher education is neglected with a tendency towards educational silos, particularly at a cross-faculty level. This paper reports on an initiative that embedded universal design practice education into the curricula of first year architecture and third year occupational therapy students and evaluated the impact on students’ readiness for interprofessional learning. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was given to students at the beginning and end of the semester during which students participated in a variety of online and face-to-face curriculum initiatives. Results showed that at the beginning of semester, occupational therapy students were significantly more positive about interprofessional learning than their architecture counterparts. Post-results showed that this trend continued but that occupational therapy students became less positive on some items after the interprofessional learning experience. This study provides insights into the interprofessional learning experiences of a group of students who have not previously been studied within the available literature.

Continuing differences between health professions' attitudes: the saga of accomplishing systems-wide interprofessionalism

To compare four health professions' attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and their evaluations of a programme aimed at enhancing IPC across a health system. Questionnaire survey. Australian Capital Territory health services. Sample of medical (38), nursing (198), allied health (152) and administrative (30) staff. s) A 4-year action research project to improve IPC. Questionnaire evaluating the project and responses to the 'Attitudes toward Health Care Teams' and 'Readiness for Interprofessional Learning' scales. Significant professional differences occurred in 90% of the evaluation items. Doctors were the least and administrative staff most likely to agree project aims had been met. Nurses made more favourable assessments than did allied health staff. Doctors made the most negative assessments and allied health staff the most neutral ratings. Improved interprofessional sharing of knowledge, teamwork and patient care were among the goals held to have been most achieved. Reduction in interprofessional rivalry and improved trust and communication were least achieved. Average assessment of individual goals being met was agree (31.9%), neutral (56.9%) and disagree (11.2%). On the two attitude scales, allied health professionals were most supportive of IPC, followed by nurses, administrators and doctors. Although overall attitudes towards IPC were favourable, only a third of participants reported that project goals had been achieved indicating the difficulties of implementing systems change. The response profiles of the professions differed. As in the previous research, doctors were least likely to hold favourable attitudes towards or endorse benefits from social or structural interventions in health care.

A cross-sectional study of paramedics' readiness for interprofessional learning and cooperation: Results from five universities

Healthcare systems are evolving to feature the promotion of interprofessional practice more prominently. The development of successful and functional interprofessional practice is best achieved through interprofessional learning. Given that most paramedic programmes take an isolative uni-professional educational approach to their healthcare undergraduate courses, serious questions must be raised as to whether students are being adequately prepared for the interprofessional healthcare workplace. The objective of this study was to assess the attitudes of paramedic students towards interprofessional learning across five Australian universities. Using a convenience sample of paramedic student attitudes towards interprofessional learning and cooperation were measured using two standardised self-reporting instruments: Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). Students' readiness for interprofessional learning did not appear to be significantly influenced by their gender nor the type of paramedic degree they were undertaking. As students progressed through their degrees their appreciation for collaborative teamwork and their understanding of paramedic identity grew, however this appeared to negatively affect their willingness to engage in interprofessional learning with other healthcare students. The tertiary institute attended also appeared to influence students' preparedness and attitudes to shared learning. This study has found no compelling evidence that students' readiness for interprofessional learning is significantly affected by either their gender or the type of degree undertaken. By contrast it was seen that the tertiary institutions involved in this study produced students at different levels of preparedness for IPL and cooperation.

A cross-institutional examination of readiness for interprofessional learning

This paper examines the readiness for and attitudes toward interprofessional (IP) education in students across four diverse educational institutions with different educational mandates. The four educational institutions (research-intensive university, baccalaureate, polytechnical institute and community college) partnered to develop, deliver and evaluate IP modules in simulation learning environments. As one of the first steps in planning, the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was delivered to 1530 students from across the institutions. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to expand upon previous work to examine psychometric properties of the instrument. An analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the institutions; however, a closer examination of the means demonstrated little variability. In an environment where collaboration and development of learning experiences across educational institutions is an expectation of the provincial government, an understanding of differences among a cohort of students is critical. This study reveals nonmeaningful significant differences, indicating different institutional educational mandates are unlikely to be an obstacle in the development of cross-institutional IP curricula.

Are Undergraduate Health Care Students ‘Ready’ for Interprofessional Learning? A Cross-Sectional Attitudinal Study

Introduction: The need for interprofessional education (IPE) is driven by the recognition that one of the major focuses of the Australian health care system is the promotion of effective interprofessional learning and collaboration with the aim of providing optimal patient/client care. The objective of this study was to explore the attitudes towards readiness for interprofessional learning among a group of undergraduate health science students studying at Monash University. Method: A cross-sectional study of students across all undergraduate years from Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Emergency Health - Paramedic/Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Emergency Health - Paramedic, Physiotherapy, and Midwifery was completed. Participants were asked to complete the 19-item paper-based Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Results: A total of 418 students participated in the study with most students from Nursing (25%) followed by Paramedics (20%). The majority of students were under 25 years of age (83%) and female (80%). Findings suggest that students support the notion of interprofessional collaboration in terms of teamwork, learning, and communication. The following items produced high mean scores: “patients would ultimately benefit if health care students worked together” (M=4.33, SD+0.68), and “learning with other students will make me a more effective member of a health care team” (M=4.38, SD+0.59). The item “shared learning will help me understand my own professional limitations” also produced significant findings F (6, 411)= 7.1, p &lt; 0.001. Subscale scores ranged from 37.34 (SD+4.34) to 4.88 (SD+1.68). Conclusion: Overall, the study has revealed a generally positive attitude towards shared learning and the value of teamwork though the strength of optimism varies among professional groups of students. This study also adds to the emerging body of knowledge surrounding interprofessional learning and provides important data regarding students’ perceptions and readiness for interprofessional learning from an Australian context.

Interprofessional attitudes amongst undergraduate students in the health professions: A longitudinal questionnaire survey

Background Interprofessional education (IPE) introduced at the beginning of pre-registration training for healthcare professionals attempts to prevent the formation of negative interprofessional attitudes which may hamper future interprofessional collaboration. However, the potential for IPE depends, to some extent, on the readiness of healthcare students to learn together. Objectives To measure changes in readiness for interprofessional learning, professional identification, and amount of contact between students of different professional groups; and to examine the influence of professional group, student characteristics and an IPE course on these scores over time. Design Annual longitudinal panel questionnaire survey at four time-points of pre-registration students ( n = 1683) drawn from eight healthcare groups from three higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. Results The strength of professional identity in all professional groups was high on entry to university but it declined significantly over time for some disciplines. Similarly students’ readiness for interprofessional learning was high at entry but declined significantly over time for all groups, with the exception of nursing students. A small but significant positive relationship between professional identity and readiness for interprofessional learning was maintained over time. There was very minimal contact between students from different disciplines during their professional education programme. Students who reported gaining the least from an IPE course suffered the most dramatic drop in their readiness for interprofessional learning in the following and subsequent years; however, these students also had the lowest expectations of an IPE course on entry to their programme of study. Conclusion The findings provide support for introducing IPE at the start of the healthcare students’ professional education to capitalise on students’ readiness for interprofessional learning and professional identities, which appear to be well formed from the start. However, this study suggests that students who enter with negative attitudes towards interprofessional learning may gain the least from IPE courses and that an unrewarding experience of such courses may further reinforce their negative attitudes.

Interprofessional perceptions of health care students

Effective interprofessional working, which is widely considered as essential to high-quality health care, is influenced by the attitudes of health care professionals towards their own and other professional groups. Relatively little is known, however, about interprofessional attitudes, particularly of students in health care professions. This study aimed to increase our understanding of students' attitudes towards their own and other professional groups on entry to a programme of professional education. Hypothesised relationships between stereotypes, professional identity and readiness for professional learning were tested by means of a questionnaire survey of 933 undergraduate health care students drawn from five health care groups (medicine, nursing, dietetics, pharmacy and physiotherapy) within a multi-faculty UK university. Positive statistically significant correlations were found between stereotypes, professional identity and readiness for interprofessional learning. As predicted, students identified strongly with their own professional group at the start of pre-registration education. They were also willing to engage in interprofessional learning. More unexpected was the positive association found between heterostereotype and professional identity scores. There are potential benefits of introducing active interprofessional education activities at an early stage of professional preparation to capitalise on students′ positive attitudes towards their own and other professional groups.