Educating Mental Health Nurse Practitioners on Interprofessional Collaboration and Preparing Them for Collaborative...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Interprofessional Education
• Healthcare Collaboration

Background:

• Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has been recognized for decades, yet healthcare professional education, including nursing, remains largely siloed.
• Discipline-specific curricula hinder the development of essential collaborative practice and team-based care skills.
• There is a need to implement educational models that bridge the gap between academic learning and collaborative healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice into Doctor of Nursing Practice coursework.
• To apply principles from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioners Faculties.
• To demonstrate a process for incorporating interprofessional collaboration into future nurse practitioner roles.

Main Methods:

• Doctor of Nursing Practice mental health nurse practitioner students participated in IPC-focused assignments.
• A pretest-posttest design evaluated student attitudes toward IPC after educational immersion.
• Experiential learning involved collaboration with diverse healthcare providers for patient care coordination.

Main Results:

• Significant changes were observed in six out of 18 survey questions assessing IPC attitudes.
• The project demonstrated the feasibility of implementing interprofessional education (IPE) within nursing curricula.
• Findings suggest a positive impact of integrated IPC education on student perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Implementing interprofessional collaboration (IPC) education in nursing programs is feasible and beneficial.
• Educational initiatives can enhance students' readiness for collaborative healthcare environments.
• This model provides a framework for other nursing programs seeking to integrate IPC.