International consensus statement on the assessment of interprofessional learning outcomes

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Learning Assessment

Background:

• Global regulatory frameworks require health and social care professionals to be competent in interprofessional collaborative teams.
• Academic institutions offer interprofessional education (IPE), but consensus on assessing interprofessional learning (IPL) is lacking.
• Existing IPE assessment strategies require further development and standardization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the lack of consensus on optimal strategies for assessing interprofessional learning (IPL).
• To present a consensus statement on desired learning outcomes and assessment methods for interprofessional education (IPE).
• To provide guidance for health and social care professional education programs.

Main Methods:

• A consensus statement was developed through international expert deliberations.
• Discussions occurred at the 17th Ottawa Conference (2016) and the All Together Better Health VIII conference (2016).
• Outcomes were informed by electronic consultations and synthesized views from international leaders.

Main Results:

• The consensus statement outlines challenges and difficulties in IPL assessment.
• It endorses a set of desired learning outcome categories for IPL.
• It proposes adaptable methods for assessing IPL that can be tailored to specific contexts.

Conclusions:

• Consensus was reached on key aspects of IPL assessment for pre-qualification health professional students.
• The proposed outcomes and methods are potentially transferable to post-qualification settings.
• This statement provides a foundation for developing more effective IPL assessment strategies globally.