Pediatric Hospital-Based Interprofessional Educational Activity for Medical and Nursing Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professions Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for developing collaboration skills among healthcare professionals.
• Existing IPE activities for medical and nursing students in pediatrics often lack real-world clinical integration.
• IPE typically does not occur within the clinical learning environment during active patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a novel hospital-based interprofessional education activity.
• To engage teams of nursing and clerkship medical students in pediatrics.
• To foster learning about, with, and from other health professionals in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• Nursing students demonstrated bedside care, while medical students explained patient rounds and clarified jargon.
• A 1-hour debrief session was led by medical and nursing faculty.
• Students completed self-assessments of interprofessional skills, and faculty evaluated performance.

Main Results:

• 45 medical and 42 nursing students participated between February 2022 and May 2023.
• Statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001) were observed in self-reported communication, collaboration, and role understanding skills for both groups.
• Qualitative data indicated a positive reception and highlighted the value of the interprofessional learning experience.

Conclusions:

• The in-person, hospital-based IPE activity was effective and well-received.
• Facilitating real-time co-learning in the clinical environment enhanced student understanding and appreciation of interprofessional team contributions.
• This novel approach successfully integrated IPE into the clinical learning environment.