Integrating Diverse Disciplines to Enhance Interprofessional Competency in Healthcare Delivery

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Healthcare Informatics

Background:

• Traditional interprofessional education (IPE) often excludes non-clinical disciplines, limiting comprehensive team training.
• Effective healthcare delivery relies on patient-centered teams with diverse professional backgrounds.
• A gap exists in educational practices regarding the inclusion of public health and informatics students in IPE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of integrating administrative and non-clinical students into clinical simulations on communication and teamwork.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of novel IPE models incorporating diverse professional roles.
• To measure changes in interprofessional collaborative competencies.

Main Methods:

• Conducted eight three-hour IPE clinical simulations involving 408 students from medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, and informatics.
• Utilized Standardized Patients and electronic health record technologies within simulations.
• Administered the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) as a pre-test/post-test intervention.

Main Results:

• A 15.9% overall improvement in collaboration was observed between pre- and post-tests.
• Significant enhancements in teamwork, communication, collaboration, and conflict management competencies were recorded (average change from 5.26 to 6.10, t = 35.16; p < 0.001).
• 94.6% of students (386/408) had complete pre- and post-test survey data.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating non-clinical professionals into clinical simulations fosters valuable interprofessional learning.
• New simulation designs with diverse roles enhance student observation and acquisition of teamwork skills.
• This inclusive IPE model prepares students for collaborative, patient-centered healthcare environments.