Interprofessional Education Module on Professionalism, Ethics, and Teamwork: Insights from Program Review Data of...

Formal interprofessional education provides health sciences students the opportunity to develop their knowledge in teamwork, communication, collaboration, and ethics. The purpose of this paper is to describe interprofessional students' perceptions of professionalism, ethics, and teamwork before and after being immersed in an interprofessional education Module on these topics. Through a program review process, pre- and post-Module survey responses from 10 interprofessional students were randomly reviewed by five faculty from different health sciences disciplines. Results from the thematic analysis of those open-ended surveys revealed students evolved in their perceptions of all three areas of professionalism, ethics, and teamwork following participation in the interprofessional Module. For professionalism, students' insights reflected a broader understanding of their roles as a professional not just individually, but on an interpersonal and societal level. Students' descriptions of ethical behavior also expanded beyond the importance of ethics within one's scope of practice to integrate cultural differences to ethically promote patient well-being. Lastly, post-survey responses indicated students' deeper understanding of the importance of teamwork to reduce errors and increase patient outcomes by working towards a common goal. The themes that emerged from this program review provided support for continued interprofessional activities to address professionalism, ethics, and teamwork.