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Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Education: Comparing Physician Assistant and Other Health Care Professions Students

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Since the release of the 1988 World Health Organization report on the need for interprofessional education (IPE) programs, various forms of IPE curricula have been implemented within institutions of higher education. The purpose of this paper is to describe results of a study using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to compare physician assistant (PA) students with other health professions students. The RIPLS survey was completed by 158 health professions graduate students, including 71 PA students, at a small northeastern university in the fall of 2010. Students were enrolled in either counseling psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or PA studies. Students completed the RIPLS survey, demographic questions, and a question regarding experience with the health care environment. PA students scored significantly lower on three of the four subscales of the RIPLS survey, as well as lower in total score. Females of all health professions scored significantly higher on the RIPLS total score and on the Teamwork and Collaboration subscale than did males. Students with prior exposure to the health care system as a patient or as an immediate family member of a patient scored significantly higher on the Negative Professional Identity subscale than did students without such exposure. Results indicate that PA students may value interprofessional collaboration less than other health professions students. Also, there may be gender and experiential differences in readiness for interprofessional learning. These findings may affect the design of IPE experiences and support integration of interprofessional experiences into PA education.

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... While PAs fulfill patient care tasks with a degree of autonomy, their practice is under indirect or nominal supervision, stressing their team-oriented approach (Morgan & Hooker, 2010). The collaborative approach noticed in PAs may be impacted by their education, as studies demonstrate that PA students prioritize interdisciplinary learning and teamwork, realizing the benefit of working with other healthcare providers (Hertweck et al., 2012;Lie et al., 2013). ...
... While PA students show a greater appreciation for interdisciplinary learning than students in medical school, they tend to place less emphasis on working with professionals like physical therapists and occupational therapists than students in other healthcare professions (Hertweck et al., 2012). This emphasizes how the distinct team-based mindset ingrained in PA education has shaped the way that they see collaborative care. ...
... This emphasizes how the distinct team-based mindset ingrained in PA education has shaped the way that they see collaborative care. Although PAs, like other professionals, may have areas for interpersonal improvement, their underlying team-oriented perspective is obvious, showing a heightened awareness of provider-provider communication needs (Hertweck et al., 2012). ...
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Redefining healthcare delivery through strategic collaboration is essential, with an emphasis on the integration of doctors, nurses, and medical secretaries. By working together, we hope to improve patient outcomes, reduce medical errors, and create a culture of patient-centered healthcare. The subtleties of interdisciplinary teamwork were discussed, with a focus on respect for one another, good communication, and the importance of recognizing the contributions of each expert. The function of medical assistants was examined, highlighting their emphasis on communication and teamwork. Furthermore, the need to maintain professional relationships in guaranteeing patient safety was emphasized, as were the possible consequences of internal disagreements on patient care. This story emphasizes the importance of seamless integration among healthcare experts in order to manage the complexities of the medical field and maximize the quality of patient care, acknowledging the transformative potential of teamwork.
... 11 The four subscales used include 1) Teamwork and Collaboration (items 1-9, total possible point 45); 2) Negative professional identity (ID) (items 10-12, total possible point 15); 3) Positive professional ID (items 13-16, total possible point 20); 4) Roles and Responsibilities (items 17-19, total possible point 15). 12 The "teamwork and collaboration" subscale was used to evaluate attitudes that focused on the effects of studying with other professions, communication problems, trust, respect, and professional boundaries. Students who score high are categorized as understanding the importance of this quality. ...
... A high score on this subscale is categorized as students having unclear perceptions, distorted roles of themselves or others. 12 The mean scores for each statement regarding IPE perception were analyzed by one-way Anova. ...
... These results indicate that most students from each health study program already have a positive perception of the importance of improving communication and problem solving, participating in learning, and appreciating the values of learning together with other professions. 12 This result is in line with previous studies that found that participants showed positive perceptions by providing positive feedback about the IPE program through their involvement in discussions with students from other health professions. 22,23 Interactive IPE was found to be more effective at participants' contribution in roleplay activities and small-group projects. ...
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Background: The importance of the interprofessional education (IPE) program has been depicted through various forms of the IPE curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a change in the implementation of IPE; this has caused the method of implementing IPE to change online. This study aims to assess the readiness of three different healthcare professions for implementing IPE using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS).Methods: The RIPLS survey was completed by 108 medical students, 40 pharmacy students, and 30 nursing students at Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia. The survey was done after the students carried out the online IPE intervention, which was held during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also completed open-ended questions reflecting their attitude towards and experience from the online IPE implementation.Results: There was no significant difference regarding student readiness for interprofessional learning among the three academic disciplines. Generally, as many as 57.9% of students showed a positive perception of IPE. Separate analysis for each study program showed that all of them were in the high range of scores for positive perception. Pharmacy students have the highest positive perception of IPE (60%), while medical and nursing students’ scores were 54.6% and 53.3%, respectively. Qualitative interviews revealed that: 1) the scheduling of IPE implementation was not suitable for the students, 2) the online communication between professions was not as effective as expected challenging, and 3) there was a growing awareness to respect other professions.Conclusion: It can be concluded that conducting the IPE program during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced many obstacles, especially communication. However, it still maintains the main objective of IPE, which is to respect other professions.
... The articles were published in 42 journals, which can be divided into multi-professional studies and uni-professional studies. Multi-professional studies that investigated the personal dimension were studies on interprofessional education (Clark, 2014;Conroy, 2019;Hertweck et al., 2012;Hind et al., 2003) and interprofessional care (Davis, 2006;Jakobsen et al., 2011;Kraft et al., 2014). Physiotherapy and occupational therapy are studied in a large number of these multi-professional studies. ...
... 25 out of 81 studies were multi-professional studies. Half of the quantitative survey studies are multi-professional studies (Cooper, Spencer-Dawe & McLean, 2005;Gendron et al., 2016;Hertweck et al., 2012;Hind et al., 2003;Jakobsen et al., 2011;Stull & Blue, 2016). In our review, many qualitative studies mentioned study limitations, such as small numbers of participants or regionally executed studies. ...
... Female-dominated professions face challenges in the male-dominated medical world, leading to being 'excluded' from professional legitimacy as a result of largely being populated by women and 'visible minorities', with negative effects on salary, status, and job opportunities (Khalili et al., 2014; McEntee-Atalianis & Litosseliti, 2017). Finally, a female-dominated professional population is not always a negative factor according to Hertweck et al. (2012), since women are more positive about collaboration, teamwork, and interprofessional learning. Summarizing the role gender plays in the personal dimension, it can be concluded that male AHPs entering female-dominated allied health professions do indeed encounter barriers, which can create tensions. ...
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Introduction With a shift in healthcare from diagnosis-centered to human- and interprofessional-centered work, allied health professionals (AHPs) may encounter dilemmas in daily work because of discrepancies between values of learned professional protocols and their personal values, the latter being a component of the personal dimension. The personal dimension can be defined as a set of personal components that have a substantial impact on professional identity. In this study, we aim to improve the understanding of the role played by the personal dimension, by answering the following research question: What is known about the personal dimension of the professional identity of AHPs in (allied) health literature? Methods In the scoping review, databases, CINAHL, ERIC, Medline, PubMed, and PsychINFO were searched for studies focusing on what is regarded as ‘the personal dimension of professional identity’ of AHPs in the health literature; 81 out of 815 articles were included and analyzed in this scoping review. A varying degree of attention for the personal dimension within the various allied health professions was observed. Result After analysis, we introduce the concept of four aspects in the personal dimension of AHPs. We explain how these aspects overlap to some degree and feed into each other. The first aspect encompasses characteristics like gender, age, nationality, and ethnicity. The second aspect consists of the life experiences of the professional. The third involves character traits related to resilience and virtues. The fourth aspect, worldview, is formed by the first three aspects and consists of the core beliefs and values of AHPs, paired with personal norms. Discussion These four aspects are visualized in a conceptual model that aims to make AHPs more aware of their own personal dimension, as well as the personal dimension of their colleagues intra- and interprofessionally. It is recommended that more research be carried out to examine how the personal dimension affects allied health practice.
... Permission to use the RIPLS was sought and received prior to beginning the study. This scale consists of 19 items, divided into four subscales: (a) teamwork and collaboration (items 1-9), (b) negative professional identity (10-12), (c) positive professional identity (13-16), and (d) roles and responsibilities (17-19;Hertweck et al., 2012;Wilhelmsson, Ponzer, Dahlgren, Timpka, & Faresjo, 2011). With a highest possible score of 45, the teamwork and collaboration subscale examines students' attitudes (who engage in interprofessional learning) regarding collaborative learning, trust, respect, and professional limitation. ...
... With a highest possible score of 45, the teamwork and collaboration subscale examines students' attitudes (who engage in interprofessional learning) regarding collaborative learning, trust, respect, and professional limitation. A higher score on this subscale demonstrates that students consider these skills appropriate to function in a team environment (Hertweck et al., 2012). The second subscale, negative professional identity, examines negative perceptions about working with students who may be from different areas of expertise. ...
... The second subscale, negative professional identity, examines negative perceptions about working with students who may be from different areas of expertise. The items in this subscale are reverse coded; an increase in scores on this subscale reflects that student do not value opportunities for shared learning with students who are from different health professions (Hertweck et al., 2012). The third subscale, positive professional identity, evaluates items such as communication skills, problem solving abilities, and teamwork, as students engage in shared learning endeavors. ...
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BACKGROUND Research on interprofessional learning and education has primarily focused on undergraduate programs, intervention-based programs and clinical programs. Efforts should also be made to examine attitudes of graduate students who are enrolled in non-clinical health profession programs. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes of non-clinical graduate health care students towards interprofessional learning and to examine differences in these attitudes and perceptions among students from differing university health programs. METHODS A quantitative survey adapted from the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale survey was sent to students enrolled in non-clinical graduate health programs at a university. A demographic section was added to collect information about the participants. RESULTS Two hundred and ninety six students from eight different health programs participated in this study, representing an 85.54% completion rate. Of the total respondents, 47.6% were enrolled in the Doctor of Health Science program, and 55.5% worked in health organizations. Findings suggested that students in different health programs considered teamwork and collaboration important to function in health care. Students felt that focus on interprofessional learning may lead to improvement in communication and problem-solving abilities. CONCLUSION Implementation of interprofessional learning curricula may enhance understanding of the work of other health professionals which could result in better patient care. These findings could help educational institutions as they advance towards implementing interprofessional educational curricula.
... However, preliminary research has also shown potential interdisciplinary differences pertaining to attitudes about interprofessional collaboration among healthcare students, with some evidence suggesting that OT students might be more open to the interprofessional experiences than their peers from other disciplines, e.g., nursing and physical therapy (PT; Avrech Bar et al., 2018) or PA (Hertweck et al., 2012). Hertweck et al. (2012) also reported gender discrepancies in terms of student perceptions pertaining to IPE, with female students exhibiting more positive attitudes towards it. ...
... However, preliminary research has also shown potential interdisciplinary differences pertaining to attitudes about interprofessional collaboration among healthcare students, with some evidence suggesting that OT students might be more open to the interprofessional experiences than their peers from other disciplines, e.g., nursing and physical therapy (PT; Avrech Bar et al., 2018) or PA (Hertweck et al., 2012). Hertweck et al. (2012) also reported gender discrepancies in terms of student perceptions pertaining to IPE, with female students exhibiting more positive attitudes towards it. ...
... This finding appears to be supported by the existing evidence. For instance, Hertweck et al. (2012) conducted a study to compare IPE readiness among PA, OT, PT, and counseling psychology students while using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). According to these authors, PA students scored significantly lower than others on the Roles and Responsibilities, and Teamwork and Collaborations subscales of this tool as well as on its total value. ...
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The importance of interprofessional education (IPE) has been emphasized by the World Health Organization and is currently required by both the occupational therapy (OT) and physician assistant (PA) education accreditation agencies in the United States. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that IPE fosters learners’ understanding of the roles different disciplines play in healthcare delivery and prepares future health professionals for patient-centered care. Authors designed and implemented an IPE event aimed to foster the following core Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies among graduate OT and PA students: Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. The specific content of this event addressed pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment for older adult clients with complex clinical presentation (with emphasis on OT- and PA- specific clinical interventions) and incorporated a discussion of a clinical case study. Team-Based Learning approach, Jigsaw technique and role-play were used as teaching strategies during this activity. Students’ perceptions of IPE were measured by administering the Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education Revised (SPICE-R) survey before and after the IPE event. This project is unique, because it incorporates a novel combination of teaching strategies to augment the IPE experience.
... The case study used in this workshop was adapted from one developed by the School of Medicine, which received Excellence in Research Australia recognition as research in a non-traditional format; however, feedback from the workshop identified that work is required to further adapt it to a more inclusive IPP case study (Waldron & Waldron, 2015). Hertweck et al. (2012) found medical students place less value on working with other students than other health professions, and we, too, found this in our study, with medical students having the lowest pre-and post-survey scores. Hertweck et al. (2012) surmised that the personality attributes of people attracted to study medicine may explain attitude (Hertweck et al., 2012). ...
... Hertweck et al. (2012) found medical students place less value on working with other students than other health professions, and we, too, found this in our study, with medical students having the lowest pre-and post-survey scores. Hertweck et al. (2012) surmised that the personality attributes of people attracted to study medicine may explain attitude (Hertweck et al., 2012). Hudson, Lethbridge, Vella, & Caputi (2016) identified that medical students attitudes towards IPE decreased after an IPE placement, suggesting that IPE might challenge medical students' "idealised" view of doctors (Hudson et al., 2016). ...
... Hertweck et al. (2012) found medical students place less value on working with other students than other health professions, and we, too, found this in our study, with medical students having the lowest pre-and post-survey scores. Hertweck et al. (2012) surmised that the personality attributes of people attracted to study medicine may explain attitude (Hertweck et al., 2012). Hudson, Lethbridge, Vella, & Caputi (2016) identified that medical students attitudes towards IPE decreased after an IPE placement, suggesting that IPE might challenge medical students' "idealised" view of doctors (Hudson et al., 2016). ...
Article
Introduction: Logistical difficulties associated with timetabling interprofessional education (IPE) in multiple entry-level health professional programs requires adopting new and innovative models. This study evaluated whether a 2-hour IPE workshop can impact students’ perceptions of teamwork, professional roles, values and communication.Method: Medical, physiotherapy and nursing students (n = 430) reviewed a case study and discussed roles, responsibilities and communication between healthcare professionals. Students were invited to participate in research by completing pre and post surveys comprising 12 statements based on the teamwork, roles and responsibilities and interprofessional biases questions from the Interprofessional Attitude’s Scale (IPAS). Data from IPAS were entered into SPSS and analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: All student groups demonstrated a positive attitude pre activity with an overall statistically significant improvement in pre- and post-activity scores (z = -8.568, p < 0.001, medium to large effect size (r = 0.47), pre workshop Md = 45 to post workshop Md = 46.5). Students identified the activity as relevant to them for learning more about their professional roles, communication, values and teamwork.Conclusions: A 2-hour workshop can be effective in influencing students’ attitudes towards IPE. Inclusion of a team activity promotes discussion on cooperation, coordination and accountability. Using a case study of a patient whose condition deteriorates as a result of poor communication enables students to explore the value of thier own and other professions roles and responsibilities as well as interprofessional communication.A case-study-based IPE activity is effective in influencing students' attitudes towards interprofessional communication and teamwork and developing a better understanding of their own and one another's roles in patient care.
... Similar to the work of Hertweck et al 17 and Renschler et al, 10 our study found differences between professional groups with regard to their attitudes toward other professions. Athletic training students had lower pretest and posttest scores than did both the OT and BSN students on the entire scale and both subscales. ...
... Athletic training students had lower pretest and posttest scores than did both the OT and BSN students on the entire scale and both subscales. Previous studies [16][17][18][19] found that gender may play a role in differences between groups, with females having Ward et al 18 found that students with a previous degree had more positive perceptions of IPE than did other groups. All of the nursing students who participated in the study were in the accelerated second-degree BSN program, and all OT students were graduate students. ...
... This might have limited students' clinical and didactic exposure to IPE. Thus, much like the findings of Hertwick et al, 17 who found that experience in the clinical practice environment can make a positive difference in attitudes toward collaboration, athletic training students may have reported lower scores on the instrument than did students from other professions because of lack of previous exposure. In this study, previous interprofessional exposure was not tracked, though the authors recommend including this consideration in future studies. ...
Article
Context Simulation is a frequently used technique for interprofessional education, allowing students from multiple professions to work together in providing quality patient care. However, little is known about the impact of interprofessional simulation with the inclusion of athletic training students because of the lack of literature. Objective This study explored the impact of an interprofessional simulation on athletic training, nursing, and occupational therapy students' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration after participation in an interprofessional simulation. Design Quasi-experimental mixed-methods study, using a single-group, pretest-posttest design. The quantitative results are reported here. Setting Private mid-sized Midwestern university. Participants Seventy-nine students, representing athletic training, nursing, and occupational therapy, participated in the simulation; 32 of these students completed pretest/posttest questionnaires. Intervention Students in all professions cared for or observed the care of a standardized patient from the time of a spinal cord injury on the football field through an ambulance ride and subsequent emergency and inpatient care. Students completed pretest/posttest questionnaires in the week before and immediately after the simulation. Main Outcome Measure The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Collaboration (JeffSATIC) measured attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration. It consists of 2 subscales: Accountability and Working Relationships. Higher scores indicated more orientation toward teamwork and collaboration. Results Participants demonstrated significant change on the JeffSATIC's Working Relationship subscale (P = .003). The Cohen d effect size was calculated for presimulation and postsimulation change, which showed a medium effect for the overall scale (d = 0.46), a negligible effect for the Accountability subscale (d = 0.02), and a large effect for the Working Relationship subscale (d = 0.79). Conclusions This study demonstrates the utility of the simulation in improving attitudes toward interprofessional working relationships. Further research should explore the differences noted between athletic training students and other health care profession students.
... Barnes et al. [10] found a positive statistically significant correlation between stereotypes, professional identity, and readiness for IP learning in undergraduate health care students. Students with previous exposure to health care systems more often recognized the value of working with other disciplines [17]. Ahmad et al. [18] found readiness to learn in health care settings among medical, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry students. ...
... e medical students were more ready to learn in IP practice than those in other professions. Concerning age, Hertweck et al. [17] found that older students had more negative attitudes toward IP collaboration; these authors posited that students with health care experiences were more self-reliant with less interest in collaboration. ...
... RN-to-BSN students in many instances bring a wealth of health care experiences to the classroom; this could influence their attitudes toward interprofessional education [17]. Differences in early professional training of the participants were not assessed but could influence perceptions. ...
Article
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This study examined RN-to-BSN and Master of Social Work students’ attitudes and readiness for interprofessional (IP) practice and educational experiences. The Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS) developed by Heinemann et al. measures attitudes toward health care teams including the quality of care/process and physician centrality. Students’ readiness for IP education was measured by the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) developed by Parsell and Bligh. Discussion of an interprofessional activity including student reactions is provided. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean scores for the Patient-Centeredness subscale of the RIPLS and in overall ATHCTS scores as well as the Physician Centrality subscale scores. Overall, participants demonstrated readiness and benefits of IP education.
... Barnes et al. [10] found a positive statistically significant correlation between stereotypes, professional identity, and readiness for IP learning in undergraduate health care students. Students with previous exposure to health care systems more often recognized the value of working with other disciplines [17]. Ahmad et al. [18] found readiness to learn in health care settings among medical, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry students. ...
... e medical students were more ready to learn in IP practice than those in other professions. Concerning age, Hertweck et al. [17] found that older students had more negative attitudes toward IP collaboration; these authors posited that students with health care experiences were more self-reliant with less interest in collaboration. ...
... RN-to-BSN students in many instances bring a wealth of health care experiences to the classroom; this could influence their attitudes toward interprofessional education [17]. Differences in early professional training of the participants were not assessed but could influence perceptions. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study examined RN-to-BSN and Master of Social Work students’ attitudes and readiness for interprofessional (IP) practice and educational experiences. The Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS) developed by Heinemann et al. measures attitudes toward health care teams including the quality of care/process and physician centrality. Students’ readiness for IP education was measured by the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) developed by Parsell and Bligh. Discussion of an interprofessional activity including student reactions is provided. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean scores for the Patient-Centeredness subscale of the RIPLS and in overall ATHCTS scores as well as the Physician Centrality subscale scores. Overall, participants demonstrated readiness and benefits of IP education.
... Research supports greater benefit to IPE in prequalifying curricula such as BSW education (Hertweck et al., 2012;Pollard & Miers, 2008). Hertweck et al. (2012) found younger students saw greater value in teamwork and collaboration. ...
... Research supports greater benefit to IPE in prequalifying curricula such as BSW education (Hertweck et al., 2012;Pollard & Miers, 2008). Hertweck et al. (2012) found younger students saw greater value in teamwork and collaboration. Pollard and Miers (2008) conducted a longitudinal study and concluded that IPE in prequalifying curricula had a more positive effect on later interprofessional relationships than those educated in uniprofessional curricula, and the effect was maintained or strengthened after 9 to 12 months of practicing as professionals. ...
... The goals of the project included teaching students to work with students from other fields, increasing their knowledge of those fields, and providing them with an authentic learning experience to practice emerging interprofessional skills. Consistent with research on IPE, this project was initiated prelicensure (Hertweck et al., 2012;Pollard & Miers, 2008). Situated in the first social work practice course, the project addressed the beginning developmental stage of the students. ...
Article
Interprofessional education is being used in many professional programs to help students develop interprofessional collaboration skills. This article examines baccalaureate social work students' participation in an interprofessional group project. Students worked in assigned interprofessional teams to research and report on a designated health-care profession. The project was developed by faculty members in other disciplines to meet their accreditation standards. Students' perceptions before and after the project were measured using a modified Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Results indicated that social work students benefited from participating in the project. They reported improved understanding of the role of other professions in teams and, more important, social work students had the largest increase in their perceived importance of learning communication skills with students from other health-care disciplines. Results are discussed in light of the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards competencies related to interprofessional practice.
... The final significant subgroup finding was that the discipline which had the least exposure to the current IPE activities in the faculty and had a significant lower score on the teamwork and collaboration subscale was nursing. Hertweck et al. (2012) offer an explanation for this finding by stating that these students are educated in the medical model. They further explain that some students possibly work closer with the physician who influences their opinion on the value of working with other health care professions' students in a team. ...
... It is also important for the nursing students to participate in all IPE activities under the guidance of the IPE model suggested in this study. Hertweck et al. (2012) state that the RIPLS scale seems to measure attitudes rather than behaviour, and is by no means a measure of interprofessional practice, and thus determining the effect of a long-term interprofessional curriculum on both attitudes and behaviours could be advantageous. The findings from this study have provided evidence that, over time, students' readiness for learning interprofessionally increases with regard to professional identity, teamwork and collaboration. ...
Article
Working effectively with other disciplines has become an important competency as a graduate attribute in higher education institutions. Educational experiences should begin to foster the prerequisite competencies needed to collaborate successfully with other healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine how ready first year students are for interprofessional learning, and whether this readiness improves along the continuum of learning into their final year of undergraduate studies. First year undergraduate students from ten disciplines completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale prior to participating in a compulsory interprofessional module, and the results were compared with that of senior students who completed the same questionnaire. Results for the study show that there were significant differences between first and senior–year level students on the subscales of negative professional identity (0.02 < 0.05); positive professional identity (0.00 < 0.05); and teamwork and collaboration (0.00 < 0.05). There was no significant difference found on the subscale roles and responsibilities (0.54 > 0.05). The results clearly show that senior students are more ready for learning interprofessionally compared to first year students. It is recommended that a scaffolded approach to learning be adopted, to ensure that students attain competence in all Interprofessional Education (IPE) core competencies when reaching their final year of study. This type of curriculum, with its specific activities and assessment methods, should be packaged in the form of an IPE model to create a clear understanding of the type of health profession graduate that will be produced.
... This scale consists of 19 items, divided into four different subscales. These subscales are as follows: (a) team work and collaboration (items 1-9), (b) negative professional identity (10-12), (c) positive professional identity (13)(14)(15)(16), and (d) roles and responsibilities [15][16][17]. Researchers have demonstrated statistical validity of the research instrument [18]. ...
... This scale consists of 19 items, divided into four different subscales. These subscales are as follows: (a) team work and collaboration (items 1-9), (b) negative professional identity (10-12), (c) positive professional identity (13)(14)(15)(16), and (d) roles and responsibilities [15][16][17]. Researchers have demonstrated statistical validity of the research instrument [18]. ...
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With the COVID-19 crisis and rapid increase in cases, the need for interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice is more important than ever. Instructors and health professionals are exploring innovative methods to deliver IPE programs in online education This paper presents a mixed methods study where an interprofessional education program was delivered/taught using online instruction. Using a survey/questionnaire adapted from the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and qualitative discussions, students’ readiness towards online IPE program and the importance of such preparation was examined. Out of two hundred fifteen students who completed the IPE program, one hundred eighty five students from clinical and non-clinical health disciplines responded to the questionnaire (86.04% response rate). Additional qualitative content analysis was conducted on a total of seven hundred and thirty six online discussions. Data analysis across all the four subscales of RIPLS suggests that students felt positively about teamwork and collaboration, and valued opportunities for shared learning with other healthcare students. Qualitative data analysis demonstrated that IPE increases awareness of team members’ roles, enhances communication and collaboration and can lead to better care for COVID-19 patients.
... This indicates that nursing students are ready and willing to participate in IPE. Studies in the literature are mostly conducted with groups of students who will become members of healthcare teams, and in these studies, the readiness levels of nursing students have been generally good, and higher than readiness levels of other healthcare students (Aziz et al., 2011;Hertweck et al., 2012;Hojat et al., 2015;Keshtkaran et al., 2014;Rose et al., 2009;Wang et al., 2015). In a study by Rose et al. (2009), where the attitudes and readiness towards IPE of students in the healthcare field was investigated, readiness levels were higher than average for all students, including nursing students. ...
... In a study by Dener and Elcin (2020), where readiness for IPE levels of healthcare personnel and students were assessed, readiness levels of nursing students did not differ according to gender, parallel to our findings. Hertweck et al. (2012) conducted a study with different student groups form the healthcare field, where female healthcare students, including nursing students, had significantly higher scores than males. Inconsistencies in the results of these studies may be due to differences in institutions' curriculums, and diversity in student groups. ...
Article
Background In recent years, interprofessional education has been described as an opportunity for all healthcare professionals to enhance nursing quality by learning together and about one another. Determining perceptions and readiness of nurses regarding interprofessional education is important for effective education planning. Objectives The aim of the study is to determine readiness for interprofessional learning and perceptions of interdisciplinary education of nursing students. Design Descriptive and cross-sectional study. Settings Nursing departments of public universities, in three different cities in Turkey. Methods This study was conducted with 738 third- and fourth-year nursing students. The data of the study was collected using “Student Information Form”, “Readiness for Inter-professional Learning Scale (RIPLS)”, and “Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS)”. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation. Results Mean age of the students was 21.56 ± 1.48, and the majority (72.9%) were women. Of the students, 58.9% chose their profession willingly, 56% chose the department as their first choice, 41.2% wanted to receive education with other healthcare students, and 84% reported having prior teamwork experience. Students' mean total scores of RIPLS and IEPS were respectively 69.78 ± 11.32 and 69.19 ± 16.62. There was a statistically significant difference between RIPLS mean scores and choosing the occupation willingly, order of choice, being satisfied with the choice of department, and willingness to study with other healthcare students, and between IEPS mean scores and choosing the occupation willingly, order of choice and being satisfied with the department choice (p < 0.05). Conclusion Nursing students in three different cities had good readiness levels for interprofessional education and perception levels of interdisciplinary education, and differed according to certain demographical qualities. In addition, there was a positive relationship between readiness of inter-professional education, and perceptions of the students.
... Our study population being drawn from enthusiastic young adults may have contributed to this high positive response. Hertwick et.al in their study found that older, more experienced students were less interested in working with students of other professions (16). Higher positive attitude in our study can also be attributed to the greater fraction of our study population being female students. ...
... It was one of the first scales to be developed by Parsell and Bligh in 1999 for the measurement of student's attitude towards IPE (11). Since then, it has been widely used to measure attitudes towards IPE (8,12,13,14,15,16,17,18). The principle component analysis was based on three subscales: team work and collaboration, professional identity and finally roles and responsibility (14). ...
Article
Introduction: Health care involves team work. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and social workers need to work in collaboration to deliver quality health care. It is therefore vital that team work and collaboration are integrated into the training of medical students. In a medical school where interprofessional education has not been introduced, the preclinical students are trained in silos whereas the clinical students have interprofessional experiences in hospital and community centers. This study was conducted to explore medical student's receptiveness for interprofessional education and to identify any differences in attitude among the preclinical and clinical year students. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional study design using purposive sampling technique at a private medical school in Malaysia. Participants completedthe standardized Readiness for inter-professional learning Scale and the data was analyzed. Results: 436 students witha mean age of 22 years participated in this study. Among them, 170 were from preclinical and 266 were from clinical years Both the groups scored high on team work while clinical students scored better than preclinical students in understanding professional identity and recognizing their roles. Conclusion: This study shows a readiness among medical students for IPE. Clinical year medical student's attitude was similar to preclinical students.
... On the contrary, due to specialized dental education and practice, dental students showed more awareness in their own professional role (item 18). In previous studies, Hertweck et al. (2012) and Keshtkaran, Sharif, & Rambod (2014) also reported a significant difference in the readiness of students among different health programs. In the earlier study, physician assistants showed minimal readiness whereas in the later, medical students showed minimal readiness for IPE. ...
... In the earlier study, physician assistants showed minimal readiness whereas in the later, medical students showed minimal readiness for IPE. (Hertweck et al., 2012;Keshtkaran, Sharif, & Rambod, 2014) In our findings, the second highest overall RIPLS mean score was found in the nursing group (75.24). This rationale for this finding could be explained by the nature of the services provided by the nursing profession. ...
... Our study population being drawn from enthusiastic young adults may have contributed to this high positive response. Hertwick et.al in their study found that older, more experienced students were less interested in working with students of other professions (16). Higher positive attitude in our study can also be attributed to the greater fraction of our study population being female students. ...
... It was one of the first scales to be developed by Parsell and Bligh in 1999 for the measurement of student's attitude towards IPE (11). Since then, it has been widely used to measure attitudes towards IPE (8,12,13,14,15,16,17,18). The principle component analysis was based on three subscales: team work and collaboration, professional identity and finally roles and responsibility (14). ...
Poster
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Health care involves team work. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and social workers need to work in collaboration to deliver quality health care. It is therefore important that team work and collaboration are integrated into the training of medical students. Inter-professional education (IPE) is defined” as when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care”1. In a medical school where IPE has not been introduced, the preclinical students are trained in silos whereas the clinical students have interprofessional experiences in hospital and community centres. This study was conducted to explore medical student’s receptiveness for IPE and to identify any differences in attitude among the preclinical and clinical year students.
... Spol je bil edini neodvisni napovednik pripravljenosti na IU in izkazalo se je, da so osebe moškega spola manj pripravljene na IU (5). Do podobnih ugotovitev so prišle tudi mnoge druge študije (6,7,8). V slednji se je prav tako pokazalo, da so študentje zdravstvene nege bolj pozitivno naravnani k timskemu delu in sodelovanju kot študentje medicine (8). ...
... Dodatna analiza je pokazala, da so študentje psihološkega svetovanja na lestvici RIPLS (angl. Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale) dosegali višje rezultate kot študentje, ki bodo v prihodnosti opravljali poklic medicinskega tehnika (7). Nekateri avtorji so preverjali povezavo med IU in preteklimi izkušnjami tovrstnega učenja. ...
Article
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Interprofessional learning (this is when two or more people from different professions learn by working together) is ultimately supposed to lead to the best overall treatment of a patient. For this reason, our research examined the extent to which students of medicine, health sciences and psychology were prepared to do so. The sample included 110 students, aged between 20 and 25 years, 15 males and 91 females (others did not report their gender). Among them were 29 students of medicine, 48 students of psychology and 33 students of health sciences. The participants completed The Big Five Inventory (BFI), the Readiness for InterprofessionalLearning Scale and the Teamwork Skills Questionnaire. The results have shown that students of medicine are less prepared for interprofessional learning than the other two groups of students. Individuals with previous experience in interprofessional learning scored higher on the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. A difference between genders has also been established, but we have to point out that only 15 males were included in the sample. The adjusted Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was shown to be a reliable measure, but it would be necessary to perform an additional validity check. Key words: interprofessional learning, gender, course of study, personality traits
... It was interesting to observe a higher proportion of undergraduates, and indeed those in general programs, were focused on how IPE would potentially benefit their skills, whilst more experienced students focused on the benefits to the patient. Considering the ultimate goal of IPE is to improve quality of the care provided to the patient [2], it seems these results align with the RIPLS scores on the Likert scale, which showed graduate students are overall more well prepared for IPE, and Legend: * the overall score for this statement was the lowest for factor 3 (z score − 1.7) and it was re-assigned a -3 as part of the ranking, but no comment is available previous literature which has shown former experience plays a role in attitudes toward interprofessional practice [38].Further, it suggests that students entering graduatelevel specialized programs already see the necessary value and emphasis on patient care associated with their program. ...
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Background Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares healthcare students for collaboration in clinical practice, but the effectiveness of this teaching method depends on students’ readiness for and perceptions of IPE. Evaluating students’ readiness for and perceptions of IPE is challenging, due to the lack of comprehensive measures. This study characterized the level of IPE readiness and perspectives across first-year undergraduate and graduate health science students using the readiness for interprofessional learning Likert Scale (RIPLS) and Q-methodologies. Methods This is a cross-sectional, online study. Students were randomized to answer the Likert-scale version of RIPLS (80%) or a matched Q-methodology survey (20%). An ANCOVA compared RIPLS scores between students from different program levels (graduate/undergraduate) and specialization (health professional and general programs). The Q-data was analysed using a by-person factor analysis. Results Three hundred and four (33% response rate) and 71 (30% response rate) students completed the Likert scale and the Q-methodology surveys, respectively. Students from graduate programs demonstrated high readiness for IPE (higher total RIPLS scores p < 0.001) in comparison to undergraduates. Three factors, associated with program specialization (p = 0.04), emerged from the Q-methodology analysis characterizing students learning priorities. Students in undergraduate general programs were focused on IPE relevance and benefits to “the clinical team”, students in graduate programs focused on “the patient”, and those in undergraduate health professional programs focused on themselves (“me”). Conclusions This novel mixed-methods approach combining traditional Likert-scales with Q-methodology elucidated not only associations between program and specialization with readiness (Likert) but also which components of IPE were valued the most (Q-methodology) and by whom.
... Considerando o mesmo relato, M3 evidencia o enriquecimento teórico e prático do aprendizado entre alunos de diferentes áreas, configurando assim a relação entre a prática e a educação interprofissionais. Mesmo expostos a períodos curtos como o analisado neste artigo, a aprendizagem em contexto autêntico de educação interprofissional com base em experiências simuladas aumenta a autoeficácia dos alunos e reverbera em atitudes positivas, como o desenvolvimento de postura colaborativa, o entendimento das responsabilidades das diferentes profissões e a melhoria da habilidade de comunicação com pacientes e equipe, desenvolvendo habilidades e competências necessárias ao futuro profissional (HERTWECK et al., 2012). Categoria II: construção do conhecimento científico Nesta categoria, os excertos que apresentamos traduzem a percepção dos alunosmonitores com relação à observação das etapas do processo científico e suas reflexões sobre a construção do seu conhecimento científico e, consequentemente, do alunomonitorado. ...
Article
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Resumo As metodologias ativas configuram-se como rompimento do ensino centrado na transmissão hierárquica do conhecimento do docente ao aluno, colaborando para o aperfeiçoamento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem centrado no discente. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as contribuições de uma disciplina baseada nas metodologias ativas ao desenvolvimento acadêmico, pessoal, profissional e ao aprendizado significativo de alunos-monitores, tanto em termos de conhecimentos científicos no estudo de temas em Ciências do Movimento quanto de iniciação à pesquisa. A pesquisa da qual deriva esse artigo usou metodologia qualitativa de abordagem narrativa, pela qual investigamos o desenvolvimento de alunos-monitores por meio de relatos de si e da experiência vivida ao participarem de uma disciplina de introdução à metodologia científica e ao estudo das Ciências do Movimento. Assumimos, para a análise dos dados construídos, a Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD), evidenciando pesquisa e reflexão sobre o aprendizado dos alunos-monitores durante a disciplina “Experimentando ciências: o corpo humano em movimento”. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário, via Google Forms. Com base na análise textual discursiva, emergiram as seguintes categorias: i) reflexões sobre o desenvolvimento pessoal e acadêmico; ii) construção de conhecimento científico; iii) postura crítica ao aprendizado e conduta/perspectiva profissional. Concluímos que, por meio da estratégia pedagógica utilizada na disciplina, centrada nas metodologias ativas, tendo em vista a iniciação à pesquisa, o grupo de alunos-monitores manifestou desenvolvimento acadêmico e pessoal, construção de conhecimento científico e aprendizado significativo ao orientar, sob supervisão docente, grupos de estudantes em experimentos sobre o corpo humano em movimento.
... 9,10 Several other studies have shown a change in the overall readiness for IP education or an improvement in the IP perceptions after relatively short interventions; however, the scores were relatively high and the interventions were on students that had no prior IP experiences. [11][12][13][14] As IP attitudes become the standard among students in medical and allied health education, the tools used to evaluate student perceptions need to shift from assessment of student attitudes to measurement of how these attitudes translate into improved patient care. 15 In fact, a 2014 systematic review of IP education calls for the development of new assessment measures which are more sensitive towards understanding how different types of IP activities produce different types of outcomes within particular academic learning environments and how these processes lead to long-term behavioral and system changes. ...
Article
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Background: Interprofessional learning, collaboration and clinical reasoning are vital in medical education and medical care in order to best meet the needs of today’s patients. Student-run free clinics are a type of learning experience that can foster interprofessionalism and develop clinical reasoning skills. Ongoing evaluation of student attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge related to interprofessionalism and clinical reasoning are beneficial in order to continually improve education and curricula and maximize student learning outcomes. While numerous tools exist to measure student attitudes toward interprofessionalism and clinical reasoning skills, there is a lack of high quality measurement tools in this field. Methods: This study completed an exploratory factor analysis of the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR) and the Interprofessional Education Scale (IEPS) to develop a new shortened interprofessional and clinical reasoning evaluation tool to measure student perceptions of interprofessionalism and clinical reasoning skills. Results: Factor analysis of SACRR yielded 4 factors, and RIPLS yielded 3 factors. In an overall exploratory factor analysis of SACRR and IEPS together, 11 significant factors emerged, with 5 of the factors having questions that loaded to them. Thirteen total questions loaded to each of the factors, forming the basis for a new survey tool.Conclusions: This new shortened survey tool can be beneficial to measuring interprofessional student learning outcomes and enhancing medical education, thereby improving the overall quality of health care delivery.
... We used the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to evaluate students' perceptions. This questionnaire has been widely used to collect students' attitudes and perceptions to measure the readiness of healthcare professional students to undertake shared learning activities (Hertweck et al., 2012;Parsell & Bligh, 1999). Negative professional identity items represented negative statements regarding the value of working with other healthcare students. ...
Article
Introduction: This study aimed to examine the usefulness of Community Based-Education (CBE) and Interprofessional Education (IPE) to community health outcomes. Methods: The design was a mixed-method study. Each small group worked together to identify family health problems, implement interventions, and evaluate the results. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire was applied to compare students' perceptions before and after the implementation. In addition, qualitative data were acquired from students' comments on the questionnaire, interviews with community representatives, and FGDs with instructors at the end of the program. Results: Three hundred and sixty-seven out of 465 students returned the completed paired questionnaire (78.9 % response rate). Paired t-test showed that student perception of responsibility slightly increased, whereas teamwork and collaboration, negative and positive professional identity decreased somewhat. However, most pre-post students' responses already trended to the positive side (scales 4 and 5). Moreover, the Chi-square test showed that pre-post students' confidence levels significantly increased. Most small groups of students successfully empowered the community to solve health problems. Students, instructors, and representatives of community members appreciated the program. However, several students felt their instructors were not motivated to mentor their tasks, and sometimes they had difficulty conducting home visits together. Conclusion: This study showed that the combination of CBE-IPE contributes to more favourable community health outcomes. However, it was challenging in several aspects of preparation, including highly motivated instructors. Nevertheless, pre and post-implementation students' attitudes are still positive.
... The earlier the exposition to different interprofessional environments, the faster students will learn how to deal with different and intricate situations, which, most of the time, could not be approached by a single healthcare profession. 19 Third year and final year pharmacy students' responses obtained in this study showed how IPE has helped them to face these new and complex issues. The exposition to IPE is further developed in the postgraduate PharmD programme. ...
Article
Introduction Interprofessional Education (IPE) activities are a first experience of real-world patient care practice for students, where collaboration with different professions is appreciated. Methods and timing of inclusion of IPE are not well-defined, and it is interesting to assess students’ perception on IPE activities. Objective To assess changes in pharmacy students’ perception of IPE before (t0) and after (t1) an IPE activity. Methods The ‘Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education–Revised 2’ (SPICE-R2) tool was adopted to assess perception of IPE activities in third year pharmacy students, final year pharmacy students and in postgraduate Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD) students at t0 and t1. Results The SPICE-R2 tool was completed at t0 and t1 by 61 students: 12 third year pharmacy students, 13 final year students and 36 PharmD students. A significant improvement between t0 and t1 ( P < .05) was measured in the three groups of students for all three subscales of the tool. The largest improvement was observed in the ‘Roles/Responsibilities for Collaborative Practice’ subscale in all three groups of students. Conclusion Perception of IPE was positively increased in all three student groups. The results could be useful to support the design of IPE activities within pharmacy programmes.
... Nevertheless, attitude can change quickly and refers to a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of an entity, 46 while commitment can influence behavior in the long term and even in the absence of positive attitudes. 47,48 The importance of commitment is also reported in other studies on interprofessional collaboration. 20 A shared commitment and shared identity are reported as two of six important enablers of interprofessional collaboration. ...
Article
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Purpose Malnutrition and sarcopenia require dietetic and physiotherapy interventions. In this study, we aimed to compare interprofessional identity of dietitians and physiotherapists, as well as attitudes towards, facilitators and barriers for, and occurrence of interprofessional treatment of malnutrition and sarcopenia by both professions. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was distributed from December 4, 2021 until January 31, 2022 through an international online network platform for professionals (LinkedIn). Practitioners working as dietitian or physiotherapist in a healthcare setting were eligible for participation. Outcome measures concerned perceptions regarding shared problem domains, interprofessional treatment, attitudes towards interprofessional treatment, interprofessional identity, facilitators, and barriers. A Chi²-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and Spearman’s Rho correlation were calculated. Results Data from 53 physiotherapists and 48 dietitians were included. Malnutrition is considered a shared problem domain by both professions (U = 1248.000; p = 0.858). While sarcopenia is treated by both professions (U = 1260.000; p = 0.927), physiotherapists consider sarcopenia more often a shared problem domain compared to dietitians (U = 1003.000; p = 0.044). Attitudes towards interprofessional treatment were mostly positive (73%, n = 35 and 87%, n = 46 respectively). Interprofessional identity of dietitians was lower compared to physiotherapists (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.3 respectively; U = 875.000, p = 0.007). This was explained by lower interprofessional belonging (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.8 respectively; U = 771.000, p < 0.001) and lower interprofessional commitment (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.3 respectively; U = 942.500, p = 0.023). Interprofessional identity was correlated with efficient means of communication (r = 0.30, p = 0.003) and bureaucracy (r = −0.21, p = 0.034). Other barriers reported included available time, financial compensation, interprofessional knowledge, and obtaining extra care. Most reported facilitators concerned role clarity, clarity of expertise, and willingness of others to collaborate. Conclusion Dietitians and physiotherapists have different interprofessional identities, but both are advocates of interprofessional treatment. Both professions mostly treat malnutrition and sarcopenia individually and have different perceptions regarding sarcopenia as shared problem domain. Facilitators were mainly related to clarity and commitment while barriers were mainly related to resources.
... Findings from this study revealed that the overall attitude of the student participants toward IPE was favorable, regardless of sex, or prior clinical/IPE experience. This is contradictory to several studies on IPE (Hertweck et al., 2012;Shankar et al., 2015;Talwalkar et al.,2016;Ward et al., 2008). While some studies have shown that female students were reported to have more favorable attitudes on IPE compared to male students (Curran et al., 2008;Judge et al., 2015;Pollard et al., 2005;Talwalkar et al.,2016), it is important to note that some female students have the tendency to "do gender" (i.e., exude masculine traits) in order to gain legitimacy as a future professional. ...
Article
The thrust of interprofessional education is to prepare health professions students to deliberately learn and work together with a common goal of providing better and safer care for service users. This study sought to describe the attitudes of health profession students toward interprofessional education and to identify which among the variables (i.e., sex, programme, year level, prior clinical and interprofessional education experiences, and level of moral development) are determinants of their attitudes toward interprofessional education. A total of 485 participants were surveyed using a validated, three-part Interprofessional Education-Attitude Scale (IPE-AS). No statistically significant difference was found between the attitudes toward interprofessional education and variables such as sex, prior clinical and interprofessional education experiences among medical, nursing, and pharmacy students. Our findings found that those with more agreeable attitudes toward interprofessional education were students in the medical programme, those from the lower year levels and those with higher stages of morality (based on Kohlberg's stages of moral development). This suggests that IPE must be introduced across health science curricula with an intentional profiling of students about their experiences related to learning and working with students from different programmes. Moral development, as a variable in the study, also provides information as to how it can improve IPE programmes, competencies, and experiences of students in the fields of health sciences.
... With respect to overall RIPLS scores, students of the psychology course demonstrated less preparedness for IPE, a finding consistent with other studies (Hertweck et al., 2012;De Oliveira et al., 2018;Roberts & Forman, 2015). The main explanation proposed for this is the low exposure of the psychology course of study to interprofessional activities. ...
Article
Interprofessional education is a key driver for patient-centered care. Interprofessionality in healthcare encourages team engagement and commitment, resulting in better outcomes and adherence to treatment. The present study aimed to use the adapted Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to analyze and correlate receptiveness to interprofessional education among Brazilian undergraduate students, to improve educational strategies. This research conducted a cross-sectional observational study of the perceptions and attitudes of healthcare students using an electronic questionnaire based on the RIPLS. The sample consisted of 938 students from seven healthcare courses of study at a public university. Students in psychology scored lowest overall. Men scored slightly higher (M = 103.9) than women (M = 101.9; p = .002). No significant differences were found in age, year of study, and previous higher education experience. The differences observed between students in the various courses reflects a process of curriculum improvement and promotion of change in institutional teaching and learning. The current study from Brazil presents the receptiveness of students from seven healthcare-related higher education courses to interprofessional education, providing a panel of data that can inform discussions of the possible causes of discrepancy between different courses of study.
... Research related to the interprofessional education enterprise has long been interested in examining differences in response to interprofessional education interventions based on discipline or health profession (Hertweck et al., 2012;Kenaszchuk, 2012;Leipzig et al., 2002). Our findings are consistent with studies suggesting that health profession students differed in their attitudes towards IPE based on discipline. ...
... on the Roles/Responsibilities sub-scale (-0.15 vs. 0.65; p=.03). Previous studies have found similar trends in the PA student population, but no cause has yet to be identified (Hertweck et al., 2012;Smith & Anderson, 2018). The authors hypothesize the differences in this study may be due to differences in the two professions' schedules at the time of the final data collection. ...
Article
PUBLISHED IN ONLINE JOURNAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTH PROMOTION. Available at: https://repository.ulm.edu/ojihp/ Interprofessional education (IPE) is a required part of the curricula for many healthcare professions. The literature cites many limitations to successful implementation of IPE including logistics, coordination of curricula, and adequate meeting space. In order to overcome some of these logistical limitations, the investigators sought to determine if an asynchronous IPE activity produces similar outcomes as the same activity delivered in a traditional "live" format. Students enrolled in the first year fall semester of two consecutive cohorts of the Physician Assistant and Physical Therapist educational programs were eligible to enroll. They were randomly assigned to either a live or asynchronous version of the same mandatory, four-week IPE activity. The research component of the activity was voluntary, and consisted of pre-and post-activity Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Surveys (RIPLS) and questions regarding activity logistics, both in an online survey format. Only matched pre-and post-activity responses were analyzed (n=73). There was no significant difference between groups related to changes in RIPLS scores. There were no significant differences in student ratings of the how well the activity met the objectives. Delivery method does not appear to make a difference on RIPLS scores or perceived attainment of instructional objectives. Participants in the asynchronous groups spent less time on the activity per week. Low research participation each year makes the results vulnerable to response bias. Further study would be beneficial with multiple professions. The results suggest that asynchronous delivery of case-based IPE is comparable to live activities, with less time spent.
... Additionally, some programs were evaluated solely from the lens of other professions, so psychology trainees' outcomes were not studied at all (e.g., Gonzalez-Pascual et al., 2018). In an interprofessional sample of students that included psychology trainees, factors contributing to more positive attitudes toward IPE included prior exposure to healthcare, either as a patient or immediate family member, and female gender (Hertweck et al., 2012). For undergraduate psychology students, IPE attitudes were positively influenced by the strength of their professional identification, relative orientation toward clinical practice or science, and perceived relevance of IPE (Roberts & Forman, 2015). ...
Article
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Healthcare reform has led to the consideration of interprofessional team-based, collaborative care as a way to provide comprehensive, high-quality care to patients and families. Interprofessional education is the mechanism by which the next generation health professional workforce is preparing for the future of health care—team-based, collaborative care. This literature review explored the extent and content of published studies documenting Interprofessional Education (IPE) activities with psychology trainees across learner level. A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted of studies describing IPE involving psychology learners. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and EMBASE) were searched for the following terms: inter/multi-professional education/practice, inter/multidisciplinary education/practice, and psychology/psychologists. Thirty-seven articles were identified that included psychology in clinical outcome studies or other reviews of interprofessional education initiatives. The review addresses the nature of current IPE learning activities, the impact of IPE activities on participating trainees, opportunities for, and challenges of, involving psychology trainees in IPE, and future directions for research. This review illuminates the relative paucity of the literature about IPE in psychology training. Given the trend toward increasing team-based collaborative care, the limited inclusion of psychology in the IPE literature is concerning. The next generation of health professional trainees is learning about, from, and with each other with the objective of building collaboration and teamwork. Given the few articles documenting psychology trainees’ involvement in IPE, future health professionals quite possibly will have limited understanding of, and contact with, psychologists. Our findings are a call to action for greater psychology involvement in IPE.
... Based on the results, the medical students in their first year of study were the group that was least favourable to the idea of collaborative learning compared to the rest. This result was also similar to that of the study made by Hertweck, Hawkins, & Bednarek (2012), wherein they discovered that those graduate students of various healthcare disciplines and had more years of experience recognized the importance of interprofessional collaboration compared to the undergraduate students. Olenick, Allen, & Smego and Lairamore& McCullough (2013) had similar observations, wherein those with a higher level of education, specifically medical interns and residents, had a higher perception of IPE. ...
Article
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Background and Aims: Interprofessional Education (IPE) is a vital academic blueprint for preparing future doctors to provide patient-centered collaborative approach to care best integrated health services. This study aimed to evaluate the awareness and readiness of Malaysian medical students towards interprofessional education. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study carried out using a questionnaire survey: The Readiness of Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). A convenience sampling method was employed. The sample was drawn from undergraduate students enrolled in year 1 to 5 of medical program in two medical universities. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The RIPLS was completed by 361 medical students who valued the importance of IPE. The students mentioned that shared learning with other healthcare professional students will increase their ability to understand clinical problems. The students also specified that team-working skills are essential for all healthcare students to learn. However, there were differences between students of different years of study in their perception and readiness toward IPE. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that undergraduate-health-care students have high perception and readiness towards IPE, however important differences in baseline readiness emerged according to year-level. These findings suggest that educators consider baseline attitudes of students when designing interprofessional education curricula. The implication of this awareness and readiness to practice IPL will create a more concert and harmony workspace to the healthcare professionals. Keywords: Interprofessional education, Interprofessional learning, readiness, RIPLS, medical education
... Slednjih je bilo zaradi onesnaženosti okolja v letu 2015 devet milijonov, kar predstavlja 16 % vseh smrti na svetu oz. 3-krat več kot zaradi AIDS-a, malarije in tuberkuloze skupaj (7). H globalnemu bremenu bolezni od okoljskih determinant pomembno prispeva onesnaženost zunanjega zraka zaradi katerega prezgodaj umre od šest do sedem milijonov ljudi (8). ...
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Izvirni znanstveni članek Javno zdravje 2020; 07: 1-12 www.nijz.si/revijajavnozdravje 10.26318/JZ-2020-07 1 Izvleček Za oblikovanje in izvajanje učinkovitih ukrepov, ki bodo pripomogli k izboljšanju stanja okolja, in s tem zdravja ljudi, so potrebni celostni pristopi. Pri tem je potrebno aktivno vključevanje civilne družbe-predvsem mladih. Z namenom pridobitve vpogleda v stanje glede znanja, stališč in vedenja mladih ter razumevanja pogledov mladinskih organizacij na področje okolje-zdravje v Sloveniji, smo v obdobju od decembra 2017 do januarja 2018 izvedli presečno pregledno raziskavo. V raziskavo smo vključili dve vzorčni populaciji: vzorčna populacija A za namene kvantitativne raziskave in vzorčna populacija B za namene kvalitativne raziskave. V končno analizo vzorčne populacije A smo vključili 460 udeležencev, v kvalitativno raziskavo vzorčne populacije B pa smo vključili 15 predstavnikov nacionalnih mladinskih organizacij. Izvedena raziskava tako predstavlja celovit pristop pri oceni znanja, stališč in vedenja mladih ter pogled mladinskih organizacij na področje okolje-zdravje v Sloveniji. V raziskavi smo ugotovili, da so mladi seznanjeni s problematiko onesnaženosti zunanjega zraka z delci različnih velikosti, vendar, z izjemo dihalnega sistema, ne poznajo njihovega škodljivega delovanja na druge organske sisteme. Za razliko od mladinskih organizacij imajo namreč mladi trdno izoblikovana stališča, da z racionalno rabo energije in prehodom od fosilnih in jedrskih virov k obnovljivim virom energije, pomembno prispevajo k zmanjšanju onesnaženosti zunanjega zraka in k zmanjšanju vpliva podnebnih sprememb na okolje. Skladno z okoljsko ozaveščenostjo so tako pripravljeni trenutni primarni vir ogrevanja zamenjati, vendar pod pogojem cenovno sprejemljive in zanesljive energijske oskrbe. Zagovarjanje ukrepov za izboljšanje kakovosti zraka preko učinkovitega in cenovno dostopnega javnega potniškega prometa potrjujejo rezultati iz sklopa »Vedenje«. Abstract Integrated approaches are needed to design and implement effective measures that will help to improve the state of the environment and thus human health. This integrated approach requires the active involvement of civil society-especially young people. To gain insight into the situation regarding the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people, and to understand the views of youth organizations in the field of environment and health in Slovenia, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the period from December 2017 to January 2018. Two sample populations were included in the study: sample population A for quantitative research and sample population B for qualitative research. In the final analysis of sample population A, 460 participants were included, and 15 representatives of national youth organizations were included in the qualitative survey of sample population B. The conducted research thus represents a comprehensive approach to assessing the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people and the view of youth organizations in the field of environment and health in Znanje, stališča in vedenja mladih ter pogledi mladinskih organizacij na področje okolje-zdravje v Sloveniji 1 Inštitut za mladinsko participacijo, zdravje in trajnostni razvoj 2 Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje 3 Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje 4 Univerza v Ljubljani, Medicinska fakulteta, Katedra za javno zdravje Kaj je znanega? Za reševanje izzivov vpliva okoljskih dejavnikov na zdravje in s tem povezanih negativnih pojavov je potrebno sodelovanje civilne družbe-predvsem mladih. Raziskave o znanju, stališčih in vedenju (angl. knowledge, atttitude, practice, KAP) mladih ter pogledih mladinskih organizacij na področje okolje-zdravje v Sloveniji, ni. Kaj je novega? S KAP metodologijo smo pridobili podatke o znanju, stališčih in vedenju glede izbranih tem s področja okolja-zdravja med mladimi in mladinskimi organizacijami, ki bodo osnova za oblikovanje kakovostnih z dokazi podprtih okoljskih in javnozdravstvenih politik. Navajajte kot: Gorenc, T. et al. Znanje, stališča in vedenja mladih ter pogledi mladinskih organizacij na področje okolje-zdravje v Sloveniji.
... In addition, we found that the video presentation only affected participants' attitude toward physicians, but not toward psychologists. This result is in contrast to prior findings that showed that medical students tend to depreciate other professionals when being confronted with inter-professional collaboration situations (37,44). ...
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Background Inter-professional collaboration (IPC) is an important prerequisite for successful patient care. Even though inter-professional education (IPE) is increasingly common in undergraduate medical education, few IPE approaches explicitly address the IPC among medical students and students of psychology. IPE videos can be used to give learners the opportunity to gather relevant knowledge from different professional perspectives. So far it has been unclear whether it is enough when the topic of the video itself is inter-professional or if it is necessary for experts from different professions explicitly to appear in the video. Methods In an online experiment, medical students watched one of two videos about Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the care of PD patients. The information was either provided by protagonists from only one profession (i.e., physicians; mono-professional condition) or provided by protagonists from two different professions (i.e., physicians and a psychologist; inter-professional condition). Attitude toward inter-professional interaction and learning, evaluation of the entertaining and illustrative character of the video, attitude toward physicians and psychologists, importance of IPC, evaluation of psychological treatment support, and knowledge acquisition served as dependent variables. Results The analysis was based on 140 participants (74 in the mono-, 66 in the inter-professional condition). We found that the inter-professional video was perceived to be more entertaining than the mono-professional video (t(138) = -2.227; p = 0.028; d= 0.38). The inter-professional video was also considered to be more illustrative (t(138) = -6.269; p < 0.001; d= 1.06). Moreover, participants improved their attitude toward physicians by watching the video (F(1, 138) = 4.860, p < 0.001, η²p = 0.11), but they did not change their attitude toward psychologists (p = 0.146). Participants who watched the inter-professional video considered IPC to be more important than participants who watched the mono-professional video (t(138) = -7.954; p < 0.001; d= 1.354). Finally, the inter-professional video led to better performance in the knowledge test (t(138) = -2.285; p = 0.024; d= 0.04). Conclusions Inter-professional videos showing explicitly the appearance of experts from different professions come along with several advantages. We discuss the implications of their application in educational practice. Trial registration The study was pre-registered on the pre-registration platform AsPredicted (aspredicted.org) before we began data collection (registration number: #33143).
... A few statistically notable differences were reported in our students' readiness according to their different professional programs. Our findings support the results of Hertweck et al 30 and Keshtkaran et al 17 both of which reported considerable differences between the readiness of students in varied health programs. In this study, the overall RIPLS mean score of the CLS group was found to be higher than that of the other two groups. ...
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Introduction Interprofessional learning occurs through healthcare professionals’ learning processes, increase collaboration, and improve the quality of patient care. This study aimed to demonstrate the attitudes of students in respiratory care (RC) as well as nursing and clinical laboratory sciences (CLS) during their last semester prior to graduating and then beginning their interprofessional education (IPE) with the help of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire. Methods Sixty-seven students (25 RC, 14 nursing, 28 CLS) were recruited for this study. All participating students had never been exposed to IPE or any other professional experience. All students were instructed to answer the RIPLS questionnaire, which comprised 3 subscales and a total of 19 items, to assess their readiness to interactively engage with other students as well as shared learning. The 3 subscales included teamwork and collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibilities. The total RIPLS scores ranged from 19 to 95, and all respondents had been instructed on the RIPLS-measured concepts beforehand. Results Sixty-seven students participated in this study (49% male, 51% female), for which the response rate was 100% (25 [37%] RC students; 14 [21%] nursing; 28 [42%] CLS). The overall RIPLS scores were considered high, ranging from 66.86 to 74.6 (Table 3). CLS scored the highest among all disciplines 74.6 (79%), while RC scored the second highest with 71.4 (75%) and nursing the lowest with 66.9 (70%). A one-way ANOVA revealed a highly significant difference among the three groups’ mean scores for overall attitudes (ANOVA p = 0.001). A post hoc Bonferroni comparison indicated that the overall RIPLS scores for CLS were statistically higher than those of nursing (ANOVA p = 0.009). Conclusion Healthcare students appear to be ready for the implementation of IPE. However, the findings reveal the need to enhance nursing students’ awareness of their professional roles and attitudes as well as the advantages of IPE.
... The modified version of the RIPLS instrument includes four subscales: teamwork and collaboration, negative professional identity, positive professional identity, and roles and responsibility. The RIPLS survey has been shown to effectively measure the attitudes and perceptions of students toward IPE (Hertweck et al., 2012). The IPEC Sub-Competencies of Teams and Teamwork and IPE Sub-Competencies of Interprofessional Communication are the closest related competencies to the RIPLS items. ...
... 15 Similarly, Curran et al, and Rebecca Olson and Andrea found that "significant differences in the attitudes of health sciences students from different professions continue to persist". 16,17 The relationship between subscales and discipline of students is insignificant. We can explain this finding, that the majority of the participants had no direct contact with the colleagues and the health care system, such as clinical nutrition and medical laboratory intern students. ...
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Objective The study aims to assess the readiness of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in the school setting among the Internship Students of Applied Medical Sciences at Taibah University. Methods This study utilized a survey targeting internship students of Applied Medical Sciences; departments Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Clinical Nutrition, at Taibah University. We used a modified Readiness for Inter-professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) survey to collect the data of this study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results A 100 surveys distributed, 40 were returned. Most of the internship students (88.7%) agreed that IPE could make them more collaborated and can enhance teamwork skill to them. A total of 36.25% of the internship student agreed, and 50.01% disagree about the negative professional identity of the IPE. 86.66% of the internship student agreed, and 50.01% disagree about the positive professional identity of the IPE. They responded that sharing learning with other health care professionals will help them to communicate better with patients and other professionals and to improve practice. 65.84% of the internship student agreed, and 23.75% disagreed about the impact of IPE on their role and responsibility. The difference between the internship student at the end level of the internship and internship student at the beginning level of the internship, towards the positive thinking about other healthcare professionals was 0.015. Conclusion The study concluded that there was a readiness of IPE in the school setting among the Internship Students Students of Applied Medical Sciences at Taibah University. The majority of the internship student agreed that IPE could make them more collaborated and can enhance teamwork skill to them. There was a significant difference between the internship student at the end level of the internship and internship student at the beginning level of the internship, towards the positive thinking about other healthcare professionals.
... Utilizing SBLE with students in athletic training, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, and psychology led to positive perceptions of IPE and collaborative practice. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) has defined interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) as multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds working together with patients, families, caregivers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care. 1 The lack of effective IPCP has been identified by WHO as a contributing factor in clin-ical error rates. 1 In addition to the threat of clinical errors, Hertweck et al. 2 reported that due to the growing complexity in healthcare, no one person from a single profession can effectively address the number and variety of health-related problems confronting individuals. Given these concerns, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggested that both academic institutions and healthcare organizations make a focused commitment to interprofessional education (IPE) that develops sustainable collaborative practice skills before and after licensure to more effectively prepare healthcare professionals to meet the health needs of the population. ...
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Academic healthcare programs are incorporating interprofessional education (IPE) into students' learning experiences in order to prepare students for optimal clinical practice. This paper describes a simulation-based learning experience (SBLE) designed to encourage students (n = 130) from six healthcare professions to learn more about interprofessional communication, roles and responsibilities of the healthcare team, and knowledge of interprofessional collaborative practice. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences in participants' perceptions of roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice (p = 0.001) and the patient outcomes from collaborative practice (p = 0.002). Additionally, participants identified the importance of holistic, patient-centered care, a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of healthcare team members, and a greater desire to participate in IPE activities. Utilizing SBLE with students in athletic training, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, and psychology led to positive perceptions of IPE and collaborative practice.
... The domain of Competency and Autonomy considers professions own sense of autonomy, competency and contributions, and the degree to which other professions' respect them (Hawk et al., 2002). The influence of gender on student attitude to interprofessional collaboration, particularly in the domain of teamwork, has been described previously (Adams, Hean, Sturgis, & McLeod-Clark, 2006;Coster et al., 2008;Curran, Sharpe, Forristall, & Flynn, 2008;Hertweck et al., 2012;Reynolds, 2003;Wilhelmsson et al., 2011;Zanotti, Sartor, & Canova, 2015). Even in first year students, gendered differences in perception of professional identity and stereotypes are reported (Adams et al., 2006;Coster et al., 2008). ...
... Interprofessional education (IPE) is an essential aspect of any healthcare professional students' training in order to raise awareness of other team members' roles and especially in this case, the role of new team members. 14, 15 There was often little IPE between the PA students and other HCP students because the students did not tend to visit the GP practices on the same days or did not have other students attending the practices at all. There is scope to improve this in the PA programme in the future. ...
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Objectives: To provide an insight into the experiences and perceptions of physician associate students and primary care staff involved in primary care educational placements in the United Kingdom. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted. Data were collected from focus groups and semi-structured interviews with eight first year physician associate students and six primary care staff in two general practice surgeries in East Sussex, United Kingdom. Recruitment was via purposeful sampling. Thematic Analysis was used to identify themes. Results: Three themes were identified: perceptions of the physician associate role, interprofessional working, and the physician associate course structure and placements. Staff demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the physician associate programme and there was a risk of unrealistic expectations. Overall, staff and students were positive about their experiences. However, students expressed anxiety over a large amount of learning in a short timeframe, the perceptions of others, and the reluctance of staff to train them in phlebotomy skills. In addition, students were unsure about their career aspirations for the future. Conclusions: Participants were positive about their experiences however students expressed a number of anxieties, with a scope to improve interprofessional education. Practice staff demonstrated an overall lack of knowledge of the curriculum and physician associates in general leading to a risk of unrealistic expectations. Further studies on these themes with a larger sample size across relevant training institutions in the United Kingdom is required to explore this further.
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Introducción: La educación interprofesional se enmarca en la tercera gran reforma de la educación sanitaria. Consiste en una docencia basada en sistemas sanitarios, enfocada en competencias locales y globales. Es el sustento de una práctica colaborativa interprofesional que garantice la Atención Médica Integral centrada en el paciente, la familia y la comunidad. Objetivo: Fundamentar la necesidad de la educación interprofesional en la formación de pre y posgrado en Ciencias de la Salud como garantía de una práctica colaborativa interprofesional eficaz que tribute a una Atención Médica Integral sostenible e inclusiva. Método: Se efectuó un estudio documental en idioma inglés y español en diversas bases de datos: Google Académico, SciELO y Red Nacional de Información en Salud (Infomed). Se sistematizaron las informaciones y se efectuaron valoraciones críticas de los autores. Desarrollo: La práctica colaborativa interprofesional ha tenido un ascenso en diferentes escenarios y deviene en condición esencial para la atención de calidad según demanda la sociedad y los sistemas de salud en los últimos años en todo el mundo, y es un requisito necesario para una atención de la salud de calidad y segura. La educación colaborativa interprofesional mejora la coordinación, integración y fusión de saberes útiles entre distintos profesionales de la salud y en la atención social. Se requiere un estrecho nexo entre los ministerios de salud y las instituciones formadoras en función de una educación interprofesional desde el pregrado, posgrado y durante la formación continua. Conclusiones: La educación colaborativa interprofesional en la formación salubrista tributa a una práctica colaborativa interprofesional sostenible.
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Background: Interprofessional education programs in university settings have facilitated the development of student attributes needed to become a team-player, understand roles and responsibilities of other health disciplines, and acquire knowledge to deliver patient-centred care. Although the benefits of interprofessional education are widely acknowledged, there is limited research on interprofessional socialisation within university contexts. Objectives: To examine readiness of undergraduate nursing students for interprofessional learning and interprofessional socialisation. Design: A cross-sectional design was used to examine the correlation between interprofessional learning and socialisation, and group differences between mode of study, year level, and prior healthcare experience. Setting: A large Australian regional university, across two campuses. Participants: A total of 103 undergraduate nursing students across year levels, including 58 enrolled on-campus, and 45 studying externally. Method: Students completed an online survey using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and the Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale. Data analyses included independent t-tests, and a one-way between subjects ANOVA. Results: No significant differences in student readiness for interprofessional learning or interprofessional socialisation were found between on-campus and external modes of study and between healthcare experience and no prior healthcare experience. Participants with previous healthcare experience had significantly higher scores for interprofessional socialisation than those with no previous healthcare experience. Conclusions: Readiness for interprofessional learning and interprofessional socialisation and were not impacted by the students' mode of study; however, previous experience in the healthcare industry and duration of study significantly improved interprofessional socialisation skills. As nursing students advance through their study, they may experience interprofessional education opportunities that influence their perceived socialisation skills.
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This book is dedicated to the current trends and new challenges that have emerged from the new e-learning environment, focusing on its potential to revolutionize Healthcare Education and exploring how it may help to better prepare future healthcare professionals for their daily practice. “E-learning and Digital Training in Healthcare Education: Current Trends and New Challenges” contains several research articles focused on new insights into the use of interactive and intuitive e-learning tools and innovative teaching methodologies that engage healthcare students in the new web-based environment training. It also includes several case studies of ‘pathfinder’ e-learning initiatives and surveys related to the penetration and acceptance of digital training in Healthcare Education.
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Background and purpose Students from different health disciplines should learn together during certain periods of their education to acquire skills necessary for solving the health problems. The Faculty of Health Sciences of University of the Witwatersrand created inter-professional education (IPE) activities for students to assess clinical IPE groups’ perceptions of IPE experiences and to identify lessons learnt during IPE sessions. Methods This was a qualitative study with review of the students’ post IPE feedback forms. The students were granted ‘protected time’ of three full days over a period of two months to participate in IPE activities. Results Students felt that knowledge about health team members was gained and that IPE groups should have more than one person from each field with the same level of clinical exposure. The students indicated the need to have regular IPE activities and if possible to incorporate this into clinical practice for them to experience it in daily clinical practice. Conclusion Participating in the IPE activity made students gain appreciation and respect for other health professionals’ roles and scope. When student groups are big, patient observations can be done as this does not compromise IPE learning outcomes. Group composition should be kept in mind to cater for the learning needs of all students. If it is not possible to meet the needs of all professions, smaller groups with professions applicable to case can be created. Keywords: Inter-professional education, Inter-professional learning, Perceptions, Experiences
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Introduction: Health care practitioners in Parkinson's care need to learn effective interprofessional team skills. This study examines posttraining effects on team skills of health practitioners attending an interprofessional education (IPE) program for team-based Parkinson's care. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, practitioners (n = 236) in nine professions (physician, nurse and nurse practitioner, physician assistant, occupational, physical and music therapy, speech-language pathology, and social work) completed the validated, self-report Team Skills Scale, before and after the training. Associations of Team Skills Scale change with intention to change practice, measured at end of each training day, and with improved attitudes toward team, knowledge, confidence, and amount of new information were examined. Results: All professions, except physician assistant, significantly improved perceived team skills, as did those showing greatest intention to change practice, with no meaningful differences in magnitude of change across profession groups. Team skills change was significantly associated with improved attitudes toward health care teams, increased knowledge about team and the role of other professions, and new knowledge gained. Confidence in Parkinson's care showed modest, statistically significant association with team skills improvement. Discussion: The Allied Team Training for Parkinson-IPE program significantly improved perceived team skills of health care practitioners, effectively teaching about skills for collaborative teamwork. Future IPE research should explore whether similar programs in other settings achieve the enhanced team skills competencies with postlicensure practitioners observed here and validate our findings from self-developed measures using larger samples, additional professions, and follow-up of transfer of learning effects through direct observation of skills of actual teams.
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Healthcare does not occur in a silo and yet healthcare education remains fractured into individual disciplines. This isolated curricular methodology does not represent the intricate interprofessional environment that healthcare providers are required to thrive in post-graduation. Interprofessional Education (IPE) has been identified as a crucial stratagem for creating effective collaborative healthcare teams. The purpose of this research project was to create an interprofessional education (IPE) simulation that represents the current collaborative healthcare practice environment. Medical students, Physicians Assistant's students and Nursing students from different educational institutes participated in a patient simulation using the Situation Background Assessment and Recommendation communication framework (SBAR). The design of this study was a one-group comparative, quasi-experimental, quantitative pilot study. The study employed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) in a pre-and-post questionnaire to measure readiness for IPE simulation and student attitudes. Attitude toward collaboration has been found to positively influence care team collaboration, which can positively affect patient outcomes. The sample population (n=45) included the second-year associate degree nursing students, first-year medical students, and first-year physician assistant students. The results of this study indicated that the implementation and participation in an interprofessional communication simulation had a positive effect on readiness and attitudes.
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Objectives Interprofessional medical collaboration is an approach to patient care that involves multiple health care specialists from varying fields coming together to solve difficult medical cases. The World Health Organization has reported that interprofessional collaboration is a key factor for the development of high-quality global health care. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) is used to assess attitudes and openness towards interprofessional collaboration. This study aimed to assess the attitudes of physician assistants towards interprofessional collaboration and whether or not demographics affect attitudes and openness. Design and participants A modified RIPLS was used to evaluate 131 practicing physician assistants. Anonymous participants were able to access the questionnaire through SurveyMonkey during a six-month period in the Spring and Summer of 2017. Participants completed the RIPLS survey and answered demographic questions related to sex, age, and medical specialty field. Results Physician assistant scores reflected favorable attitudes and openness to interprofessional collaboration and education. There were no significant differences associated with any demographic category. Conclusions Results indicate that physician assistants have favorable attitudes and openness to interprofessional collaboration and education regardless of age, sex, or medical specialty field.
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Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important component of medical education, preparing students for the collaboration necessary for high-quality patient care. This study aimed to compare IPE readiness in pre-qualification physical therapy (PT) and medical (MD) students before and after an interprofessional workshop and identify factors influencing the workshop’s perceived educational value. In two consecutive years, students were surveyed with the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) following a four-hour, case-based workshop. During the second year, students were also surveyed before the workshop and answered open-ended questions about its educational value. PT and MD students had similar mean pre-workshop RIPLS scores (83.0, SD 5.3 vs. 80.7, SD 7.9; p = .27), but post-workshop scores were higher among PT students (86.3, SD 6.5 vs. 80.3, SD 8.8; p < .001). Qualitative thematic analysis of responses to open-ended questions revealed students valued IPE within the workshop. However, MD students in particular identified improvement opportunities in workshop delivery, timing, and content. These factors undermined the perceived educational value for MD students and may have contributed to their lower post-workshop RIPLS scores. This study suggests that a brief workshop can improve readiness for IPE among pre-professional students and highlights the importance of content, delivery, and timing to IPE success.
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Interprofessional education (IPE) is based on collaborative practices that increase the occasions for communication among those in various health professions. However, there is a paucity of literature about the effectiveness of IPE programs in health professions education. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to objectively assess the literature on the effectiveness of IPE in improving health professions students' attitudes after training. The major scholarly databases were searched for relevant IPE studies involving predoctoral health professions students. Two independent researchers selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of the studies. Meta-analyses of the outcomes were performed using random effects models. Sixteen articles were ultimately selected for detailed review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that IPE training had a significant influence on students' understanding of collaboration and resulted in better attitudes about interprofessional teamwork. Subscale analysis showed that one subscale score (roles and responsibilities) did not statistically significantly improve after IPE training (p=0.06), whereas the other four subscale items showed statistically significant improvements (p<0.01). The test for overall effects showed that IPE training had a significantly positive influence on students' attitudes about IPE (Z=6.85, p<0.01). Subgroup results showed that medical students had more positive attitudes about IPE than did dental students. Regardless of profession, women students responded with significantly more positive feedback than did men students (p=0.02). These results suggest that intervention through IPE training has had positive effects in health professions education. Gender was an important factor impacting the outcomes of IPE. However, further clinical practice interventions may be helpful to enhance the IPE competence of health professions students.
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Meeting of Minds The performance of humans across a range of different kinds of cognitive tasks has been encapsulated as a common statistical factor called g or general intelligence factor. What intelligence actually is, is unclear and hotly debated, yet there is a reproducible association of g with performance outcomes, such as income and academic achievement. Woolley et al. (p. 686 , published online 30 September) report a psychometric methodology for quantifying a factor termed “collective intelligence” ( c ), which reflects how well groups perform on a similarly diverse set of group problem-solving tasks. The primary contributors to c appear to be the g factors of the group members, along with a propensity toward social sensitivity—in essence, how well individuals work with others.
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Despite increasing recognition for the importance of interprofessional education (IPE), little is known about where in the world it occurs, how it is conducted and why it is offered. This international environmental scan was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to answer these questions and inform efforts to support IPE on a global scale. An internet-based survey targeting educators and researchers in WHO's 193 Member States was conducted between February and April 2008. Participants were recruited by WHO staff through a range of country focal points, collaborating centres, regional networks and partner organizations. The scan garnered 396 responses representing 41 countries from WHO's six regions, various income-economies and many health professions. IPE was often (i) voluntary (22%); (ii) not based on explicit learning outcomes (34%); (iii) not assessed for what was learned (63%); (iv) not offered by trained facilitators (69%); and (v) not formally evaluated (30%). Participants reported many benefits of IPE for education, practice and policy. Results are limited primarily by reliance on self-reports and an English-only, internet-based questionnaire. Significant efforts are required to ensure that IPE is designed, delivered and evaluated in keeping with internationally recognized best practice.
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Relatively little is known about the specific attributes of health professional students which may influence their attitudes towards both interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education. A survey was distributed to all pre-licensure health professional students from medicine, nursing, pharmacy and social work programmes at our institution. Respondents were asked to rate their attitudes towards interprofessional healthcare teams and interprofessional education using validated and reliable scales reported in the literature. Information on the respondents’ gender, profession, year of study and prior experience with interprofessional education was also collected. There was no significant difference between attitudes of medicine and nursing students towards interprofessional teamwork; however, both these student groups report significantly less positive attitudes towards interprofessional teams than pharmacy and social work students. Medicine students reported significantly less positive attitudes towards interprofessional education than nursing, pharmacy and social work students. Female students and senior undergraduate students reported significantly more positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education, while students reporting prior experience with interprofessional education reported significantly more positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork. Profession, gender and year of study appear to be attributes which were related to more positive attitudes towards both interprofessional teamwork and education.
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Objectives The belief that the effectiveness of patient care will improve through collaboration and teamwork within and between health care teams is providing a focus internationally for ‘shared learning’ in health professional education. While it may be hard to overcome structural and organizational obstacles to implementing interprofessional learning, negative student attitudes may be most difficult to change. This study has sought to quantify the attitudes of first-year medical, nursing and pharmacy students’ towards interprofessional learning, at course commencement.DesignThe Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) (University of Liverpool, Department of Health Care Education), was administered to first-year medical, nursing and pharmacy students at the University of Auckland. Differences between the three groups were analysed.SettingThe Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.ResultsThe majority of students reported positive attitudes towards shared learning. The benefits of shared learning, including the acquisition of teamworking skills, were seen to be beneficial to patient care and likely to enhance professional working relationships. However professional groups differed: nursing and pharmacy students indicated more strongly that an outcome of learning together would be more effective teamworking. Medical students were the least sure of their professional role, and considered that they required the acquisition of more knowledge and skills than nursing or pharmacy students.Conclusion Developing effective teamworking skills is an appropriate focus for first-year health professional students. The timing of learning about the roles of different professionals is yet to be resolved.
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Interprofessional education, continuing interprofessional education, interprofessional collaboration, and interprofessional care are moving to the forefront of approaches with the potential to reorganize the delivery of health professions education and health care practice. This article discusses 7 key trends in the scholarship and practice of interprofessional education: conceptual clarity, quality, safety, technology, assessment of learning, faculty development, and theory. © 2009 The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.
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Objectives Although shared learning activities are gradually being introduced to health care undergraduates, it has not been possible to measure the effects of educational interventions on students' attitudes. The main objective of this study was to develop a rating scale using items based on the desired outcomes of shared learning, to assess the `readiness' of health care students for shared learning activities.Design and participantsA questionnaire study of 120 undergraduate students in 8 health care professions.ResultsPrincipal components analysis resulted a 3- factor scale with 19 items and having an internal consistency of 0.9. The factors have been initially named `team-working and collaboration', `professional identity' and `professional roles'.Conclusions The new scale may be used to explore differences in students' perception and attitudes towards multi-professional learning. Further work is necessary to validate the scale amongst a larger population.
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This volume presents a systematic review of interprofessional education in health and social care. This is accompanied by a wider-ranging critique of interprofessional education, grounded by experience, and informed by sources beyond the evaluations that qualified for inclusion in the review. Synthesising the evidence base for interprofessional education nevertheless remains central, with 353 studies surveyed in the first instance, from which 107 studies form the basis for the final analysis. The book does much more than amass evidence. It revisits conventional wisdom; setting an agenda to help interested parties perform better by applying lessons learned, remedying weaknesses and renewing efforts to address unanswered questions. The first three chapters set the scene for the systematic review and its findings. The middle section of the book articulates the findings of the review. Finally, the closing chapters consider values and attitudes, theoretical perspectives and offer conclusions. Arguments, assumptions and evidence in this publication are presented to inform policy making, programme planning, teaching and research.
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During a longitudinal evaluation of a pre-qualifying interprofessional curriculum, health and social care students completed questionnaires concerning communication and teamwork skills and interprofessional learning and working. Data were collected on entry to their educational programme, during the second year of study, at qualification and after 9-12 months' qualified practice. This paper presents results from practice data from 414 professionals; 275 were educated on the interprofessional curriculum, 139 on previous uniprofessional curricula. The former were more confident at qualification about their communicative skills, their interprofessional relationships and other professionals' interaction, and showed positive correlations between perceptions of their relevant skills and their interprofessional relationships. They were also more positive about their interprofessional relationships than practitioners educated on uniprofessional curricula. Age and previous experience of higher education influenced professionals' attitudes negatively: mature individuals may require more support when entering the workforce. Between qualification and practice, respondents from the interprofessional cohorts grew more critical of interprofessional education. However, experience of interprofessional education appears to produce and sustain positive attitudes towards collaborative working, suggesting that individuals' perceptions of their own educational experience are inadequate as an evaluative measure of interprofessional learning initiatives. This study reinforces the argument for including IPE in pre-qualifying curricula.
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This paper reports and evaluates a programme of interprofessional education for final-year medical students and fourth-year undergraduate BSc nursing students. The programme was designed in the light of social psychological studies of intergroup behaviour (the contact hypothesis). Key features included opportunities to work as equals in pairs and small groups on shared tasks in a cooperative atmosphere. Topics included communication between nurses, doctors and patients, deliberate self-harm by patients, and ethical issues in clinical care. A comprehensive evaluation of the effects of the programme on one cohort of 39 participants revealed that overall attitudes towards the other profession had improved. Participants reported increased understanding of the knowledge and skills, roles and duties of the other profession. The programme was positively evaluated by both groups of participants.
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The original version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was published by Parsell and Bligh in 1999. The only aspect of reliability considered by the authors was the internal consistency. A revised version for use with undergraduate students was published in 2005 (McFadyen et al., 2005). That paper also reported internal consistency of the revised version. Subsequently a sample from one professional group (n = 65) was used to assess test-retest reliability, over a one week period, of each of the 19 items and of the sub-scale totals, using Weighted Kappa and the intra-class correlation (ICC) respectively, and these results are reported in the present paper. The test-retest reliability of the individual items using Weighted Kappa was satisfactory, with the exception of two items (Items 11 and 12). The ICC results for the sub-scale totals were all in excess of 0.60 with the exception of sub-scale two. This revised version of RIPLS would appear to have good reliability in three of its sub-scales but further research, with larger samples, is required before the fourth sub-scale can be reliably assessed.
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