Outcomes of Introducing Early Learners to Interprofessional Competencies in a Classroom Setting

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Practice
• Collaborative Healthcare

Background:

• Interprofessional practice is crucial for healthcare delivery.
• Limited evidence exists on interprofessional education (IPE) outcomes beyond prelicensure learners' attitudes and knowledge.
• Rigorous evaluation of early IPE is needed to assess its impact on collaborative practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a large-scale, early interprofessional education activity on prelicensure health professions students.
• To assess changes in student attitudes and understanding of interprofessional collaboration.
• To determine the effectiveness of IPE in fostering collaborative skills for clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• First-year students (N=679) from 7 health professions programs participated in a 4-session IPE series.
• Students worked in interprofessional teams, creating a team charter and a video on collaboration barriers.
• Web-based peer assessments and a validated attitudinal scale evaluated student perceptions and teamwork.

Main Results:

• Student feedback indicated enjoyment of peer interaction and preference for applied activities over lectures.
• A small but significant increase in positive attitudes toward IPE was observed.
• A disconnect emerged between student self/peer ratings and faculty assessment of teamwork products, with videos lacking deep understanding of collaboration barriers.

Conclusions:

• The large-scale IPE activity promoted interprofessional socialization among early learners.
• Student learning outcomes were inconsistently demonstrated in teamwork products.
• Augmenting self- and peer-assessments with faculty-driven behavioral outcomes is recommended for robust evaluation of IPE.