Exploring perceptions of medical students about interprofessional education (IPE): a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Interprofessional Practice
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Growing demand for interprofessional education (IPE) in medical training.
• Previous research often overlooked student perspectives in IPE implementation.
• This study addresses the need to understand medical students' experiences with IPE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the interprofessional experiences of medical students.
• To provide insights for developing future interprofessional education programs for medical students.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study utilizing a phenomenological approach.
• Purposive sampling of medical students with prior interprofessional learning experiences.
• Semi-structured interviews and Colaizzi's method for thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: cognition/attitude, practice/collaboration, motivation/drive, difficulty/challenge, and expectation/vision.
• Students reported IPE broadens perspectives and aids in building healthcare teams.
• Student expectations and ideas for IPE were identified.

Conclusions:

• Institutions should create tailored IPE systems aligned with professional education.
• IPE for medical students should adapt to national contexts, like China's.
• Effective IPE enhances future medical teams and patient-centered care.