Early-learners' expectations of and experience with IPE: A multi-institutional qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Education
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Multi-institutional qualitative studies in interprofessional education (IPE) are limited.
• Evidence on early learner application of interprofessional instruction is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore student expectations of introductory interprofessional education (IPE).
• To identify barriers to interprofessional education (IPE) among early learners across four institutions.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative inductive content analysis of student narrative responses.
• Utilized pre- and post-survey data from health science students across four institutions.
• Thematic analysis of responses concerning IPE expectations, benefits, and barriers.

Main Results:

• Four themes emerged for IPE expectations/benefits: professional roles, teamwork, communication, and peer interaction.
• Four themes identified as IPE barriers: course logistics, lack of context, course content, and social dynamics.
• Student expectations and perceived benefits of introductory IPE courses were aligned.

Conclusions:

• This multi-institutional study provides empirical evidence on early learner perceptions of IPE.
• Findings highlight alignment between student expectations and benefits in introductory IPE.
• Identified barriers offer insights for improving future interprofessional education implementation and research.