Getting on the same page: an interprofessional common reading program as foundation for patient-centered care.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Interprofessional Education
• Health Professions Training

Background:

• Interprofessional education aims to foster collaborative, patient-centered care among clinicians.
• Evaluating the impact of educational interventions on student attitudes and practices is crucial for improving healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if a common reading on illness experience influenced health professions students' attitudes after a year of training.
• To determine if students applied lessons from the reading to patient-centered care delivery.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory study involving six focus groups with health professions students.
• Qualitative analysis of focus group data to identify emergent themes.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: recognizing family as stakeholders, finding common ground, applying lessons to see patients as individuals, emotional connection to narratives, and perspective-taking.
• Students demonstrated enhanced understanding and application of patient-centered care principles.

Conclusions:

• A common reading program can effectively enhance health professions students' knowledge and attitudes in patient-centered collaborative care.
• Shared reading experiences foster community, reflection, and perspective-taking among interprofessional learners.