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

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to evaluate the effects of an innovative critical care interprofessional education intervention on prelicensure nursing and medical students at a large public university. The class provided opportunities for students to (a) explore stereotypes about each respective profession, (b) examine the occurrence and effects of interprofessional conflict in high-acuity areas, and (c) explore conflict resolution techniques while learning how to perform critical care procedures as a team.

A nonequivalent control group design with pretest, posttest, and focus group interviews were used.

Data analyses indicated no subscales and total scores were significantly different across time or between groups. However, focus group analyses indicated that changes did occur.

The findings suggest that students experience interprofessional conflict in clinical settings, yet lack the confidence and skills to effectively mitigate these behaviors. Ongoing studies to measure student empowerment and their intentions to practice collaboratively before and after graduation are recommended. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(12):696-700.].