Promoting interprofessional understandings through online learning: a qualitative examination.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Online Learning
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is integral to health professional training, aiming to improve patient care.
• Despite its benefits, implementing IPE faces significant challenges.
• Online platforms offer a potential solution to overcome these implementation hurdles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore health professional students' perceptions of an online, web-based interprofessional education module.
• To assess the effectiveness of online IPE in fostering understanding of other health professionals' roles.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving three focus groups with 13-15 students each.
• Participants included students from emergency health (paramedic), nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and nutrition and dietetics.
• Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged: professional understanding, patient-centeredness, comparison with other IPE activities, and overcoming geographical boundaries.
• Students reported overwhelmingly positive learning experiences.
• The module significantly enhanced students' understanding of other health professionals' roles.

Conclusions:

• Online interprofessional education modules are effective in enhancing student learning and professional understanding.
• Web-based IPE successfully addresses geographical and logistical limitations of traditional face-to-face IPE.
• This online approach provides unique insights into the practice of other health professionals, not easily gained in clinical settings.