Perceptions of Health Sciences Students of an Introductory Interprofessional Education Course

PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify health sciences students’ perceptions of an introductory interprofessional education (IPE) course. It is important to educate current health sciences students in IPE values and use students’ perceptions to evaluate the effectiveness of IPE. Focuses in health care on aspects like the Triple Aim and social determinants identify the need for team-based collaborative care (Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008). With health care moving toward interprofessional collaboration as a desired approach, higher education institutions need to prepare students on how to work together as an interprofessional team before they enter the clinical environment (Pardue, 2015). Furthermore, disciplinary requirements are now dictating that IPE is an important educational imperative (Zorek & Raehl, 2013). In this study, the authors explored the perceptions of students who engaged in an online, self-paced introductory course on IPE entitled Introduction to Collaborative Care. The authors were interested in the student perceptions of the course as it was the inaugural offering.

DESIGN: In this qualitative study, a focus group composed of health sciences students was conducted to gather their perceptions regarding the introductory IPE course and their feelings toward interprofessional practice.

METHOD: Researchers used self-developed focus group questions as the primary measurement in this qualitative study. A trained focus group facilitator who was not a member of the primary research team led and recorded the focus group using a tape recorder. A professional transcriptionist outside the research team transcribed the initial data. After the focus groups, three researchers reviewed the transcribed data to ensure accuracy, conducted an analysis individually, then collaborated to confer findings. Researchers separated codes into categories and then themes based on content relativity.

RESULTS: Four themes from the focus group emerged: benefits of the course, efficiency of the course, challenges of the course, and recommendations.

CONCLUSION: This study provides some evidence that students who participated in an introductory IPE course had positive perceptions of other health professions and valued being part of an interprofessional team.

IMPACT STATEMENT: With the focus of health care moving toward more of a team approach, it is important for higher education institutions to prepare students and improve how they work together before entering the clinical environment. It is important to educate current health sciences students in interprofessional education values and to use students’ perceptions to evaluate the effectiveness of IPE. It is also important to contribute to students’ knowledge of IPE to help them become collaboration-ready practitioners.

References

Berwick, D. M., Nolan, T. W., & Whittington, J. (2008). The Triple Aim: Care, health, and cost. Health Affairs, 27, 759–769. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.27.3.759

Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washington, DC: Author.

Pardue, K. T. (2015). A framework for the design, implementation, and evaluation of interprofessional education. Nurse Educator, 40, 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000093

Reeves, S., Goldman, J., & Oandasan, I. (2007). Key factors in planning and implementing interprofessional education in health care settings. Journal of Allied Health, 36, 231–235.

Zorek, J., & Raehl, C. (2013). Interprofessional education accreditation standards in the USA: A comparative analysis. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 27, 123–130. https://doi.org/10.3109/13561820.2012.718295