An Inter-University Virtual Geriatric Case Competition to Build Interprofessional Collaboration Skills

Developing positive learning experiences in team-based geriatric care is challenging. This presentation will highlight an inter-University geriatric case competition for developing interprofessional competencies in health professional students sponsored by the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Programs at Saint Louis University and the University of Minnesota. The virtual competition involved teams of 4-5 undergraduate and graduate students from multiple health professions who designed a comprehensive care plan using a simulated complex geriatric patient case. Students were assigned to an interprofessional team with a faculty or community expert coach, attended an orientation, and developed a 20-minute recorded presentation. A panel of judges rated team presentations using a scoring rubric based on the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. Local competitions included a first and semi-final round, with the winning teams presenting at the inter-university competition held via live videoconferencing that involved a question-and-answer session. Prizes were given to the top teams. Students, coaches, and judges completed evaluation surveys focused on satisfaction with the competition format/procedures and achievement of interprofessional competencies. Twenty-one teams and 117 students from 12 disciplines participated. Team scores ranged from 2.2 to 4.3 (overall mean 3.1) on a 1-5 scale. Judge, coach, and student evaluations were positive, indicating students learned valuable lessons in group dynamics, team-based care, and geriatric care. Most students (82%) preferred the virtual competition format or had no preference on format. The virtual case competition provided a positive, engaging experience to introduce health professional students to geriatric team-based care and develop their readiness for collaborative practice.

SIESTA: a quick interprofessional learning activity fostering collaboration and communication between paediatric nursing trainees and medical students

Background Interprofessional education has emerged as a key concept in education of health professionals over the last 20 years. Positive effects of interprofessional education have been shown, but it has proved to be more time-consuming than traditional teaching methods. We therefore developed a 30-minute interprofessional learning activity, using peer-teaching methods. We were interested in effects on and ways of interprofessional learning, including conditions and resources that make it successful despite limited time. Methods Speed InterprofESsional Peer Teaching PaediAtric (SIESTA) was developed in the context of an interprofessional training ward. 20 paediatric nursing trainees and 20 medical students were enrolled in the study. Two students from each profession participated in a total of four SIESTA sessions each, supervised by registered paediatric nurses and paediatricians. We used a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative data (questionnaires, semi-guided focus group interviews) to evaluate self-perceived interprofessional competencies, interprofessional learning gains and ways of interprofessional learning. Results Questionnaires were obtained from all participants (n = 40) and n = 26 took part in the group interviews. Participants from both professions reported an increase in self-perceived understanding of interprofessional roles and tasks. Communication and cooperation emerged as important aspects. The workplace-based nature of SIESTA promoted interprofessional learning, while peer teaching fostered a safe learning environment. Regarding time constraints participants suggested thorough preparation and structuring by facilitators as a solution. Conclusions Our short interprofessional peer teaching activity showed promising results. Participants reported enhanced interprofessional competencies and provided suggestions for successful learning in limited time. Further studies should include an objective assessment of the interprofessional learning progress. The SIESTA concept can be easily adapted to other medical fields, providing interprofessional learning opportunities for many more health care professionals to come.

Lesson Learned from the Development and Implementation of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP)

Interprofessional collaboration is essential for our students’ success in their selected program/s and postgraduate life. These types of experiences have been shown to improve students’ interprofessional competencies - communication skills, teamwork abilities, ethical practices and understanding other team members’ roles and responsibilities; they also can increase their theoretical knowledge acquisition within their discipline. We developed and tested a pedagogical idea, the interprofessional case learning project (ICLP,) that encompassed a multi-disciplinary approach involving biology, chemistry and public health. The goal was to provide students and faculty with the opportunity to experience interprofessional collaborative practices that would encourage questioning, discredit misconception, connect concepts and make inferences, generate new ideas and encourage shared decision making. Feedback indicated that the goals established aligned well with the development of interprofessional competencies. Student engagement with this project lead to in-depth questions beyond the scope of an individual discipline, with resulting impact affecting decisions about coursework, and professional and career development. This project also fostered collaboration between faculty, which promoted creative curriculum development and facilitated the development of scholarship that lead to publications. Our major challenge to this project was time – to pause, reflect and participate individually or as a group. Another challenge was overcoming logistical barriers such as incorporating the ICLP in our courses and scheduling the multi-disciplinary discussion that required a common time and large enough space for everyone.

Preparing for the Trend of Aging in Place: Identifying Interprofessional Competencies for Integrated Care Professionals

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify interprofessional competencies for the integrated community care of older people.Methods: This study used a methodological approach, and the specific process aimed to identify the components of interprofessional competencies for integrated community care using a scoping review and validating the identified competencies with the Delphi method. The scoping review first identified relevant studies through the following electronic databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. We then selected studies that met the inclusion criteria and analyzed their results to identify a draft version of the competencies. Expert panels validated the list of competencies through two rounds of the Delphi survey.Results: The two rounds of the Delphi survey revealed consensus. Finally, we developed an interprofessional competency for integrated community care comprising 19 interprofessional core competencies, 20 integrated core care competencies for community care administrators, 13 integrated core care competencies for care coordinators, 13 integrated core care competencies for local service providers, and 12 integrated core care competencies for community health leaders.Conclusion: This study can help inform job descriptions, evaluate the relevant professionals’ performance, and develop a competency-based curriculum for better practice.

Development of a Longitudinal Curricular Evaluation Framework for Intra- and Interprofessional Teamwork

Objectives: To describe the development and evaluation of a university-wide competency and evaluation framework for intra- and interprofessional education (IPE) teamwork.Methods: Development of the framework was based on existing literature and specific contexts of the schools within our university. Evaluation and program alignment regarding use of the framework were achieved through qualitative interviews with deans of the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy, and focused on how they evaluated student progression towards the university-wide teamwork competency. Interview data were analyzed using classical content analysis.Results: Despite efforts to carefully design the framework, interviews revealed that significant variation exists regarding when and how both IPE and team-based care are taught and evaluated across schools. Common barriers to interprofessional education included variations in teamwork practices across disciplines, scheduling challenges, and lack of resources for implementation. Recommendations for how to align teaching and evaluation activities with the framework are posed.Conclusions: Longitudinally tracking the development of interprofessional competencies within/across health professions schools requires careful planning and collaboration among institutional leaders, interprofessional educators, program evaluators, and students. The information gained from this process provides insights toward implementing future high-quality IPE in teamwork and other inter- and intraprofessional competencies, which may be helpful to others.