Using an interprofessional competency framework to enhance collaborative pediatric nursing education and practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Nursing Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for healthcare students to develop collaborative care skills.
• IPE is a mandatory component of nursing curricula in Canada, with ongoing development of learning strategies.
• The formal requirement for IPE in nursing programs is relatively recent, necessitating continued research into its implementation and effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an introductory IPE activity on third-year undergraduate nursing students.
• To determine if exposure to IPE influenced students' perceived ability to practice interprofessional collaboration (IPC).

Main Methods:

• An introductory IPE activity comprising ten hours of lectures and case studies was delivered.
• The National Interprofessional Competency Framework guided the IPE content.
• Quantitative data were collected using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) pre- and post-participation. Paired t-tests analyzed changes in 20 items and 6 subscales.

Main Results:

• 111 nursing students participated in the study.
• The ICCAS results showed improvements in all six measured competencies after the IPE activity.
• Internal reliability of the ICCAS was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha.

Conclusions:

• Introductory IPE activities involving nursing and other healthcare students show potential for improving IPC.
• Enhanced IPC skills were observed in nursing students participating in the IPE activity.
• Findings support the development of formal IPE interventions to strengthen interprofessional collaboration in healthcare settings, particularly for pediatric care.