Honors students in the health professions: An academic-practice partnership for developing interprofessional...

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Practice
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Limited research exists on interprofessional education (IPE) for undergraduate honors students.
• Academic-practice partnerships can enhance health professions training.
• Understanding honors students' perspectives on IPE is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To increase awareness and understanding of IPE principles among undergraduate nursing and pre-medical honors students.
• To provide experiential learning opportunities in interprofessional practice.
• To assess changes in readiness for interprofessional learning and explore student motivations.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project involving an academic-practice partnership.
• Utilized the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) for quantitative assessment.
• Employed narrative data analysis to explore student themes and expectations.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in RIPLS scores were observed post-IPE simulation, particularly in Teamwork & Collaboration and Positive Professional Identity.
• Small to medium effect sizes (Cohen's d) indicated meaningful changes in learning readiness.
• Qualitative themes included perceived opportunity, enjoyment, self-awareness, situational awareness, and the importance of teamwork.

Conclusions:

• IPE simulation effectively enhanced undergraduate honors students' readiness for interprofessional learning.
• Findings provide valuable insights for designing effective interprofessional collaborative learning activities for diverse health professions students.
• This approach can inform future curriculum development to foster essential collaborative practice skills early in training.