Effectiveness of an interprofessional experience in building confidence and recognizing communication skills in...

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an Interprofessional education (IPE) experience using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment survey (ICCAS). In total, 319 physical therapy and nursing students participated in a single IPE experience held annually over 3 years. All students were shown two patient care simulation videos highlighting two different styles of communication. Pre- and post‑activity, students anonymously completed the ICCAS. As a group, all 20 ICCAS items showed significant improvement with large effect sizes. The largest effect size was found for item 1: "Promote effective communication among members of an IP team." The largest domain improvement was found in communication. The secondary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between change scores from ICCAS items #1 to #20 with ICCAS question #21. This study found that a single IPE experience using peer discussion and video was a highly effective and efficient way to enhance interdisciplinary communication and other IPE domains among nursing and physical therapy students. This IPE experience, which covers the IPE core competencies of values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams/teamwork, should be considered by other programs looking for new and effective ways to incorporate IPE into their curriculum.