Occupational therapy students in the process of interprofessional collaborative learning: a grounded theory study

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Education
• Occupational Therapy

Background:

• Interprofessional collaboration is crucial for allied health professions.
• Understanding the learning process for occupational therapy (OT) students in interprofessional settings is essential for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate a grounded theory explaining the interprofessional collaborative learning process for OT students.
• To identify the progression of skills OT students develop during interprofessional learning experiences.

Main Methods:

• Grounded theory approach.
• Semi-structured interviews with nine OT students.
• Data from four interprofessional learning experiences across three universities.

Main Results:

• OT students must foster a culture of mutual respect to enable effective interprofessional collaborative learning.
• Students progress through skill development: representing OT, contributing to a team, collaborative problem-solving, and team integration.
• Learning occurred concurrently with course content acquisition, influenced by various barriers and facilitators.

Conclusions:

• A culture of mutual respect is foundational for successful interprofessional collaborative learning among OT students.
• The identified skill progression offers insights into optimizing interprofessional education for allied health.
• Findings can inform the design of more effective and inclusive interprofessional courses for allied health faculty.