Critical Care Interprofessional Education: Exploring Conflict and Power-Lessons Learned

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Critical Care Nursing
• Medical Education

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for preparing healthcare professionals.
• Critical care settings present unique challenges for interprofessional teamwork and conflict.
• Understanding student perceptions of professional stereotypes and conflict is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an innovative critical care interprofessional education intervention.
• To assess the impact on prelicensure nursing and medical students.
• To explore professional stereotypes, interprofessional conflict, and resolution techniques in critical care.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods study utilizing a nonequivalent control group design.
• Pretest and posttest measures were administered.
• Focus group interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data.

Main Results:

• Quantitative analyses showed no significant differences in scores between groups or over time.
• Qualitative analysis of focus groups indicated that students did experience changes.
• Students acknowledged interprofessional conflict in clinical settings.

Conclusions:

• Students encounter interprofessional conflict but often lack confidence and skills for effective mitigation.
• Further research is recommended to measure student empowerment and collaborative practice intentions.
• The findings highlight the need for continued development of IPE interventions focused on conflict resolution.