Evaluation of "The Interprofessional Education Academy"

This study evaluated the impact of the "1st Interprofessional Education Academy" on the interprofessional identity and attitudes of healthcare students in Turkey. This was a 4 day national training program for 24 health professionals aimed to increase effective collaboration and communication skills, support the development of professional identity, and strengthen the implementation of IPE in Turkey. Twenty-four female participants (mean age: 22.88 ± 2.35 years) from various healthcare disciplines completed the Extended Professional Identity Scale (EPIS-TR) and the Interprofessional Attitude Scale (IPAS) before and after the intervention. The results showed significant improvements in all EPIS-TR subscales (interprofessional belonging, commitment, and beliefs) and total scores, indicating a positive impact on interprofessional identity. The IPAS results revealed significant increases in the teamwork, roles, and responsibilities (TRR), patient-centeredness (PC), cultural competency (CC), and overall scores, suggesting enhanced interprofessional attitudes and competencies. A moderately positive correlation was found between EPIS-TR and IPAS total scores. In the analysis, it was seen that there was an increase in the perception level of the participants regarding the importance of IPE due to the effect of the training they received. In addition, there was a significant decrease in participants' perceptions of their place in the training programs due to an increase in their awareness. The training program received positive evaluations from the participants. These findings highlight the effectiveness of structured IPE interventions in fostering collaborative attitudes and identities among health care students. Further research with larger and more diverse samples is needed to reinforce these results and provide additional evidence for the scale's applicability in IPE contexts.