Interprofessional education on complex patients in nursing homes: a focus group study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Geriatric Care
• Interprofessional Education (IPE)
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Aging populations present increasing challenges of multi-morbidity and polypharmacy.
• Complex patient needs necessitate comprehensive, interprofessional healthcare approaches.
• This study focuses on graduate students' experiences in interprofessional teams caring for complex nursing home residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe graduate students' experiences with interprofessional practice in nursing homes.
• To explore how interprofessional education (IPE) impacts the care of complex patients.
• To identify facilitators and barriers to effective interprofessional collaboration in geriatric care settings.

Main Methods:

• Graduate students from nursing, nutrition, dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy participated.
• Students worked in groups to develop care plans for nursing home patients.
• Qualitative data were collected via focus groups (n=21) and analyzed using thematic analysis (Systematic Text Condensation).

Main Results:

• Three themes emerged: complex patients as learning opportunities, the network of professional relationships, and structural factors enabling knowledge sharing.
• Interprofessional education in nursing homes provided a rich learning environment for students.
• Students identified various coordination practices within their interprofessional teams.

Conclusions:

• IPE shifted students' perspectives from fragmented care to relational, collaborative practice, enhancing patient care understanding.
• The study underscores the necessity of preparatory teamwork training for maximizing IPE benefits.
• Educational institutions should implement structured learning modules and pre-training courses for effective IPE.