Development and implementation of a virtual "collaboratory" to foster interprofessional team-based learning using a...

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Online Learning

Background:

• Healthcare quality and safety necessitate strong interprofessional collaboration.
• Health professions students need interprofessional competencies for practice readiness.
• Traditional learning barriers include scheduling, course load, and distance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible, web-based collaborative learning environment.
• To facilitate active interprofessional teamwork among students.
• To overcome barriers in interprofessional education delivery.

Main Methods:

• Case-based online course design utilizing a faculty-student partnership.
• Learning modules aligned with patient lifespan developmental stages.
• Mixed methods quality improvement approach with pre/post competency assessments and feedback.

Main Results:

• Increased mean scores in the Interaction domain of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competency Self-Assessment.
• Sustained high scores in the Values domain.
• Key success themes included active engagement, realistic cases, clear expectations, shared commitment, and enjoyment.

Conclusions:

• A faculty-student partnership model is feasible for virtual interprofessional courses.
• Quality improvement cycles accelerated course refinement.
• Strategies for engaging students in online team-learning were identified.