Interprofessional education program for medical and nursing students: interprofessional versus uniprofessional

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for healthcare teamwork.
• Understanding the impact of IPE on student self-efficacy and attitudes is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effects of interprofessional (IP) versus uniprofessional (UP) education on medical and nursing students' self-efficacy and attitudes.
• To evaluate changes in self-efficacy and attitudes following a team communication and collaboration class.

Main Methods:

• An experimental design compared an IP group (medical and nursing students) with a UP group (medical students only).
• Participants completed the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS) and Self-Efficacy Perception for Interprofessional Experiential Learning (SEIEL) scale pre- and post-class.
• Role-play and case-based discussions were utilized in the educational intervention.

Main Results:

• Both IP and UP groups showed increased IPAS and SEIEL scores after the class.
• Medical students in both groups demonstrated similar improvements.
• Nursing students in the IP group showed a larger effect size for attitude changes (IPAS) compared to medical students in the IP group.

Conclusions:

• A single IPE program using role-play and case-based discussion yielded comparable self-efficacy and attitude improvements in both UP and IP groups.
• While effective, the UP group could benefit from increased interaction with other professions to enhance understanding and experience.