Teaching and learning in interprofessional ethics education: Tutors' perspectives.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nursing Education
• Bioethics

Background:

• Clinical ethical dilemmas necessitate interdisciplinary collaboration, yet medical and nursing curricula often lack focus on interprofessional communication.
• Problem-based learning (PBL) offers a potential strategy to improve communication in ethics education.
• An interprofessional ethics education program utilizing PBL was developed for medical and nursing students in Taiwan.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore tutors' experiences teaching interprofessional ethics education to medical and nursing students.
• To understand the phenomenon of teaching and learning within this interprofessional ethics program from the tutors' perspective.

Main Methods:

• Phenomenological qualitative research design.
• A 6-week interprofessional ethics education program using PBL.
• Focus group and individual interviews with 14 physician and nursing tutors.

Main Results:

• Tutors' perspectives revealed three key themes: instructor motivation, use of narrative case scenarios, and emphasis on interprofessional ethics communication.
• Problem-based learning served as a platform for interprofessional communication.
• Observed value convergence among tutors and students across different professional levels and maturities.

Conclusions:

• Problem-based learning is an effective strategy for establishing communication platforms in interprofessional ethics education.
• Ethics curricula should prioritize instructor motivation, narrative case scenarios, and interprofessional communication.
• The program facilitated value convergence, enhancing understanding and collaboration among future healthcare professionals.