Does PBL deliver constructive collaboration for students in interprofessional tutorial groups?

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Teamwork Skills Training

Background:

• Effective teamwork is crucial for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare settings.
• Interprofessional problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach to develop collaborative skills.
• This study investigated collaborative dynamics in interprofessional PBL tutorials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the extent of constructive collaboration among health professional students in interprofessional PBL groups.
• To assess students' collaborative activities and perceptions during PBL discussions.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of 40 video-recorded interprofessional PBL discussions (67 hours) involving 52 medical, midwifery, and nursing students.
• Utilized the Maastricht Peer-Activity Rating Scale (MPARS) for assessing collaborative activities, ensuring inter-rater reliability.
• Conducted uni-professional focus groups to understand students' perceptions of their participation and performance.

Main Results:

• Students actively contributed to discussions, enhancing mutual understanding across professions.
• Interprofessional groups demonstrated complementary problem-solving, with open communication and recognition of professional strengths/limitations.
• Medical students scored significantly higher in constructive and collaborative activities compared to other healthcare professionals (p=0.000).

Conclusions:

• Interprofessional PBL effectively motivates students to collaboratively construct knowledge for patient problem-solving.
• The findings highlight the potential of interprofessional PBL in enhancing teamwork skills.
• Medical students exhibited superior performance in collaborative and constructive engagement within these learning environments.