Transition to practice: can rural interprofessional education make a difference? A cohort study

Area of Science:

• Health professions education
• Interprofessional learning
• Rural health

Background:

• Transitioning from student to health practitioner requires collaborative skills.
• Rural settings offer opportunities for integrated, multidimensional health learning.
• A five-week interprofessional program was developed for final-year health students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate student learning experiences in a rural, clinically-based interprofessional program.
• To compare the experiences of participating students with non-participating peers.
• To assess the program's effectiveness in achieving learning objectives across four domains.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental design with pre and post questionnaires for two student cohorts.
• Survey data collected from participating students at the end of each rotation.
• Comparison of responses between participating and non-participating students.

Main Results:

• Participating students (42%) reported significantly better preparation than non-participants.
• High student satisfaction reported across all learning domains (mean Likert scores 3-5).
• Satisfaction increased in the second year (mean Likert scores 4-5).

Conclusions:

• Integrated, rotational programs can simultaneously meet multiple learning objectives, including indigenous health.
• Rural settings are suitable for delivering such comprehensive health education programs.
• The program effectively prepared students for entry-to-practice in a collaborative context.