Evaluation of "The Interprofessional Education Academy"

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Interprofessional Education (IPE) is crucial for developing collaborative healthcare professionals.
• Turkey's healthcare system can benefit from enhanced IPE to improve patient outcomes.
• A structured national training program was needed to foster interprofessional identity and attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the 1st Interprofessional Education Academy on Turkish healthcare students.
• To assess changes in interprofessional identity and attitudes following a 4-day national training program.
• To strengthen the implementation of IPE in Turkey by improving collaboration and communication skills.

Main Methods:

• A 4-day national training program involving 24 female healthcare students.
• Pre- and post-intervention administration of the Extended Professional Identity Scale (EPIS-TR) and Interprofessional Attitude Scale (IPAS).
• Analysis of changes in interprofessional identity, attitudes, and perceptions of IPE importance.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in all EPIS-TR subscales and total scores, indicating enhanced interprofessional identity.
• Significant increases in IPAS scores for teamwork, roles, responsibilities, patient-centeredness, and cultural competency.
• A positive correlation between interprofessional identity and attitudes; participants perceived IPE as more important post-training.

Conclusions:

• The 1st Interprofessional Education Academy effectively fostered interprofessional identity and collaborative attitudes among healthcare students.
• Structured IPE interventions are vital for developing competent and collaborative healthcare professionals.
• Further research with diverse samples is recommended to validate findings and scale applicability in IPE.