scholarly journals Interprofessional Education and Collaboration in Healthcare: An Exploratory Study of the Perspectives of Medical Students in the United States

Healthcare ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunitha Zechariah ◽  
Benjamin E. Ansa ◽  
Stephanie W. Johnson ◽  
Amy M. Gates ◽  
Gianluca De Leo

Qualified and competent healthcare professionals working in a collaborative team environment is a prerequisite for high quality patient care. In order to be successful in the healthcare working environment, medical students need to be exposed to interprofessional learning early in their education. A single stage online survey was administered to medical students to evaluate their attitudes and perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and whether prior exposure to IPE increased their appreciation for interprofessional collaboration. The results suggest that irrespective of prior exposure to IPE, medical students appreciated the importance of interprofessional education and collaboration. Medical students showed a strong interest in attending interprofessional courses in other disciplines. Time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and communication emerged as barriers to IPE. Medical students embraced IPE and welcomed the opportunity to learn with other disciplines. Clinical case studies and simulations were identified as potential methods to integrate with other healthcare disciplines. The positive attitude and perceptions of the medical students toward interprofessional education and collaboration warrants the inclusion of related courses in medical curricula, as this may further increase students’ potentials in becoming effective healthcare providers.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Walmsley ◽  
Melanie Fortune ◽  
Allison Brown

Background: Regional medical campuses are often challenged with providing effective interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities for medical students that are comparable to those at main campuses. At distributed teaching sites, there is often less IPE infrastructure and fewer learners of other health professions. On the other hand, distributed medical education (DME) settings often have community-based clinical environments and fewer medical students, which can provide unique opportunities for IPE curriculum innovation.Methods: At the Niagara Regional Campus (NRC) of McMaster University, the Horizontal Elective for Interprofessional Growth & Healthcare Team ENhancement (HEIGHTEN) was developed to provide first-year medical students the opportunity to learn from and work alongside nurses in a community hospital. This study assesses HEIGHTEN’s impact on students’ knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards interprofessional care, as well as student satisfaction with the learning experience using a mixed methods evaluation.Results: Findings suggest that HEIGHTEN provided an enjoyable learning experience, fostered positive interprofessional attitudes and an appreciation for the nursing role. Voluntary participation by medical students was high and increased both within the regional campus and with students from other campuses travelling to participate.Conclusion: This model for IPE can be feasibly replicated by distributed teaching sites to provide medical students with hands-on, experiential learning early in training, leading to positive attitudes and behaviours supporting interprofessional collaboration (IPC).


Author(s):  
Robin Fleming ◽  
Mayumi Willgerodt

Effective communication, teamwork, and interprofessional collaboration, or teams of health and non-health professionals working together, are critical to improving the patient experience of care; improving population health; and reducing healthcare costs (i.e., the Triple Aim). In 2016, the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Expert Panel updated its Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. As health professionals who collaborate with an extensive network of health and non-health professionals, school nurses embody the aims of interprofessional collaboration (IPC). This article briefly reviews the background of interprofessional collaboration and describes ways that school nurse practice aligns with IPC core competencies to incorporate interprofessional collaboration. We discuss successes, such as case management and care coordination, and include challenges to IPC in the school setting. In conclusion, through case management and collaborative care, school nurse expertise in effective IPC fosters knowledge through which core competencies can be strengthened, with benefits for both patients and other healthcare providers.


Pharmacy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Cropp ◽  
Jennifer Beall ◽  
Ellen Buckner ◽  
Frankie Wallis ◽  
Amanda Barron

Interprofessional practice between pharmacists and nurses can involve pharmacokinetic dosing of medications in a hospital setting. This study describes student perceptions of an interprofessional collaboration pharmacokinetics simulation on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) 2016 Core Competencies. The investigators developed a simulation activity for senior undergraduate nursing and second-year pharmacy students. Nursing and pharmacy students (n = 54, 91 respectively) participated in the simulation using medium-fidelity manikins. Each case represented a pharmacokinetic dosing consult (vancomycin, tobramycin, phenytoin, theophylline, or lidocaine). Nursing students completed head-to-toe assessment and pharmacy students gathered necessary information and calculated empiric and adjusted doses. Students communicated using SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation). Students participated in debrief sessions and completed an IRB-approved online survey. Themes from survey responses revealed meaningful perceptions in all IPEC competencies as well as themes of safety, advocacy, appreciation, and areas for improvement. Students reported learning effectively from the simulation experience. Few studies relate to this type of interprofessional education experience and this study begins to explore student perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) in a health sciences clinical context through simulation. This real-world application of nursing and pharmacy interprofessional collaboration can positively affect patient-centered outcomes and safety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052092368
Author(s):  
Wanda Jirau-Rosaly ◽  
Shilpa P Brown ◽  
Elena A Wood ◽  
Nicole Rockich-Winston

Purpose: The aging population in the United States poses a substantial challenge to our health care system, and particularly affects the training of physicians in geriatric care. To introduce undergraduate medical students to a variety of clinical skills and concepts emphasized in geriatrics, we created an interprofessional geriatric workshop and examined changes in student perceptions of working in interprofessional teams, knowledge regarding geriatric concepts, perceptions of the pre-work material, and suggestions for curricular improvement to enhance the workshop for future students. Methods: Second-year medical students participated in a 4-hour workshop with tasks that emphasized activities of daily living, geriatric physical assessment, end-of-life discussions, Beers Criteria, and a home health assessment. Pre- and post-surveys were administered including the Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education–Revised (SPICE-R) survey and a knowledge assessment. Student perceptions of pre-work and overall program assessment were captured after the workshop. Descriptive statistics and paired t tests assessed for significant differences. Emerging themes were analyzed using the Glaser constant comparative method. Results: Of the 186 medical student participants, 178 students completed the SPICE-R survey, demonstrating significant increases in students’ perceptions of the value of interprofessional education ( P < .001). In addition, 111 students completed the pre- and post-test for the knowledge assessment, demonstrating significant gains in geriatric concepts ( P < .001). Overall, most students perceived the pre-work as useful and felt prepared to evaluate geriatric patients. Open-ended question analysis supported results, in which 34 students indicated that they felt most comfortable performing a home health assessment and emphasized the usage of the home health simulation. Conclusions: Introducing medical students to a variety of geriatric assessments and concepts in an interprofessional environment early in their career positively influences their perceptions of working as an interprofessional team member to deliver comprehensive care to older adults.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Rose Paul ◽  
Alanna Higgins Joyce ◽  
Gary Beck Dallaghan ◽  
Meg Keeley ◽  
Corinne Lehmann ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most frequent indication for antibiotic treatment of children in the United States. Its diagnosis relies on visualization of the tympanic membrane, a clinical skill acquired through a deliberate approach. Instruction in pediatric otoscopy begins in medical school. Medical students receive their primary experience with pediatric otoscopy during the required pediatric clerkship, traditionally relying on an immersion, apprentice-type learning model. A better understanding of their preceptors’ clinical and teaching practices could lead to improved skill acquisition. This study investigates how pediatric preceptors (PP) and members of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) perceive teaching otoscopy. Methods A 30-item online survey was administered to a purposeful sample of PP at six institutions in 2017. A comparable 23-item survey was administered to members through the 2018 COMSEP Annual Survey. Only COMSEP members who identified themselves as teaching otoscopy to medical students were asked to complete the otoscopy-related questions on the survey. Results Survey respondents included 58% of PP (180/310) and 44% (152/348) of COMSEP members. Forty-one percent (62/152) of COMSEP member respondents identified themselves as teaching otoscopy and completed the otoscopy-related questions. The majority agreed that standardized curricula are needed (PP 78%, COMSEP members 97%) and that all graduating medical students should be able to perform pediatric otoscopy (PP 95%, COMSEP members 79%). Most respondents reported usefulness of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) AOM guidelines (PP 95%, COMSEP members 100%). More COMSEP members than PP adhered to the AAP’s diagnostic criteria (pediatric preceptors 42%, COMSEP members 93%). The most common barriers to teaching otoscopy were a lack of assistive technology (PP 77%, COMSEP members 56%), presence of cerumen (PP 58%, COMSEP members 60%), time to teach in direct patient care (PP 46%, COMSEP members 48%), and parent anxiety (PP 62%, COMSEP members 54%). Conclusions Our study identified systemic and individual practice patterns and barriers to teaching pediatric otoscopy. These results can inform education leaders in supporting and enabling preceptors in their clinical teaching. This approach can be adapted to ensure graduating medical students obtain intended core clinical skills.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard I. Zraick ◽  
Ana Claudia Harten ◽  
Fran Hagstrom

Speech-language pathologists and audiologists often share roles and responsibilities with other professionals as they contribute to the health and wellness of clients/patients in educational and medical settings. Emerging changes in the educational and health care landscapes in the United States are increasing the demand for interprofessional collaboration to improve treatment outcomes. Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders need to be responsive to health care and educational reforms and expose students to collaborative learning opportunities with those outside their professions. This introductory-level article reviews terminology and concepts related to two approaches to training tomorrow's clinicians today, Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPP). The article also discusses the challenges and opportunities related to IPE and IPP, and makes a call to action for both approaches to address educational and health care changes in the United States.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazunori Ganjitsuda ◽  
Masami Tagawa ◽  
Takuya Saiki ◽  
Makoto Kikukawa ◽  
Akiteru Takamura ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Collaborative work between multiple health professions provides high quality health services and results in optimum outcomes, and interprofessional education is known as an effective strategy for improving attitudes towards interprofessional work. However, it has been repeatedly reported that physicians have poor attitudes towards collaboration with other health professionals, and how medical trainees develop their collaborative attitude during undergraduate education has not been examined in detail. The aim of this study was to investigate how medical trainees’ collaborative attitude changes and whether educational intervention modifies this process.Methods This was a cross-sectional study targeting first- (just after admission), fourth- (pre-clinical) and sixth- (prior to graduation) year medical students in seven medical schools in Japan, second-year residents in four medical school hospitals, and doctors in one university. A survey using the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Collaboration was conducted from 2016 to 2017. The average score of each group, institution and gender, and the relationship between scores and length of teamwork courses and clinical clerkship were analyzed.Results A total of 2504 (response rate 83.0%) responses were received. The average scores of first-, fourth- and sixth-year medical students, residents, and doctors were 110.1, 105.8, 105.6, 102.4, and 107.0, respectively. A three-way analysis of variance of students’ scores showed that learning year, institution, gender, and the interaction between institution and learning year were significant variables. Scores of female students were significantly higher than those of male students.The length of interprofessional education courses in preclinical years was significantly correlated with scores among fourth-year students, but not sixth-year medical students. The length of clinical clerkship was significantly correlated with scores among sixth-year medical students.Conclusion Collaborative attitude towards teamwork was low among advanced year medical students and residents. Clinical practice with multiple professions in long-term clinical clerkship, which was classified as transprofessional education, might be the most effective intervention for improving attitudes towards collaboration among medical students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha A. Miner ◽  
Tracey C. Vlahovic

Background Medical students (MSs) in allopathic and osteopathic medical programs may not be adequately exposed to the role of podiatric physicians and surgeons in health care. We explored perceptions of the specialty field of podiatric medicine from the perspective of MSs in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area. Methods In this cross-sectional survey study, responses regarding podiatric education and scope of practice were collected via a 16-question, self-reported, anonymous online survey distributed to MSs at one osteopathic and three allopathic medical schools in the Philadelphia area. Inferences and conclusions were drawn from the percentages of respondents. Statistical analyses for school of attendance, year of study, and physician relative subgroups were performed. Results The 129 survey responses obtained revealed misunderstandings regarding podiatric education and training. Only 45.7% correctly answered that podiatric medical students do not take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The results also showed the perception of podiatry in a positive light, with approximately 80% of respondents agreeing that the term doctor is applicable when referring to a podiatrist. Respondents with a physician relative were more likely to rate podiatry's role in health care higher on a scale from 0 (inessential) to 5 (equivalent to MDs/DOs) than those without a physician relative. Conclusions The results of this preliminary survey were generally positive and optimistic while also identifying some misconceptions regarding MS perceptions of podiatric medical training and scope of practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate perceptions of podiatry from the perspective of other members of the health-care team to improve interprofessional relations and understanding.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Reid

This study was conducted in order to determine various groups’ accuracy in identifying three major standard English accents. The main purpose of the experiment that was performed was to determine how well speakers familiar with these accents could tell them apart from other accents. It focused on comparing the test subjects’ recognition of Canadian English pronunciation with General American pronunciations. Received Pronunciation was used as a control as it is generally considered to differ much more from the standard North American varieties than they differ from one another.Within North America, the 'standard' accents of Canada and the US are quite similar. So similar, that one of the experiment’s hypotheses is that that despite being identified by linguists as different, many native speakers of the two dialects would have difficulty telling the difference themselves. The differences in the features of Canadian English (CE) and General American (GA) have been identified and studied by linguists before, but what this experiment sought to determine was the degree to which speakers of these dialects could tell them apart purely through listening.Canada is given some degree of stigma from the United States for its dialect, and has had fun poked at it for such Canadianisms as the use of 'eh?' and Canadian Raising- Americans will exaggerate the difference when illustrating it, saying “aboot” [ə'but] for about [əˈbʌʊt]. But how well can they perceive the difference when not already informed about the speaker's origins?An online survey was prepared, with audio clips or words in isolation and sentences, spoken by speakers of GA, CE, and RP, specifically using words that exhibited features that vary between the accents. This allowed us to examine subjects’ degree of recognition with, and without prosody, and to analyze the degree to which prosody affects accent recognition. In order to better determine how prior exposure influences accent recognition, the subjects were broken down into three groups: Native speakers of Canadian English, native speakers of American English and ESL speakers who had had prior exposure to Canadian English.One of the main findings of this experiment is that more than 80% of American respondents recognized their own national standard accent, and around 67% recognized the Canadian accent; while only 62% of the Canadian respondents recognized the Canadian accent accurately. Compared to Canadians, Americans were better at telling the North American varieties of spoken English apart.


Author(s):  
Katherine G. Ervie ◽  
Julie Wright Banderas

In the United States, quality healthcare is an expectation. The accepted healthcare delivery approach relies on interprofessional, collaborative, and person-centered teams. As a result, health professions education must implement education and training to graduate a healthcare workforce that is competent in interprofessional collaboration. Physician assistants (PA) have an important role in the healthcare team. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a historical background to the interprofessional collaborative healthcare team, the formation of interprofessional education (IPE) competencies and partnerships, and the valued role of physician assistants. The need for evidence-based results to guide IPE curricular decisions for PA programs and characteristics of published IPE activities involving PA students are summarized. Potential barriers to successful interprofessional education and resolutions to those challenges are discussed.


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