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.

Development of the Department of Veterans Affairs Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education Trainee Participant Survey: Measuring Trainees’ Perceptions of an Interprofessional Education Curriculum

Background: The Trainee Participant Survey was developed for the evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (VA CoEPCE), which developed and delivered an interprofessional education (IPE) postgraduate curriculum to learners of multiple professions at seven geographically diverse VA facilities across the United States.Methods and findings: Perceptions of the curriculum by learners across professions were assessed to identify differences in curricular perceptions and unmet needs to inform programmatic changes. The comparison of responses by profession revealed no statistically significant differences across the core domains; precepting, supervising, mentoring; or program practices. Trainee professions differed significantly on satisfaction and system impacts.Conclusion: The Trainee Participant Survey has excellent psychometric properties and can serve as a model for evaluating future IPE programs.

The Methodological Development of an Interprofessional Educational Program to Provide Proactive Integrated Care for Elders

Background: Interprofessional collaboration in practice (IPCP) between professionals from the medical and social domain within primary care is desirable; however, it is also challenging due to fragmented healthcare. Little is known about the development of IPCP in primary care to fit the implementation context. This article describes the methodological development and the final content of an IPCP program.Methods and findings: The development process started with the identification of IPCP competencies in a literature review and a qualitative needs analysis with semi-structured interviews among eight elders and four health care professionals. The results were discussed during a first consultation with an expert team, which consisted of ten health care professionals. Consensus was reached on the themes role identity, communication, and shared vision development to form the basis of the program. A second consultation with the experts discussed the first version of the program. Then, consensus was reached on the final version of the program, which included a blended learning approach consisting of two face-to-face meetings, online learning, and on-the-job learning with a sixteen-hour time investment over a six-week period.Conclusions: The IPCP program was developed based on educational strategies and evidence, and with the support and knowledge of practice experts to fit the implementation context.

Providing Remote Students with Access to a Video-enabled Standardized Patient Simulation on Interprofessional Competencies and Late-life Depression Screening

Background Standardized patient (SP) simulation is used to teach geropsychiatry. This project tested feasibility and effectiveness of video-enabled SP simulation to teach interprofessional (IP) late-life depression screening.Methods and findings Nurse practitioner, pharmacy, and medical students (N=177) participated in remote (n = 27) and on-site (n = 150) SP simulation. Linear mixed-effect model determined the effects of time and setting on pretest and posttest Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) data. Overall, no significant difference was observed in degree of change on ICCAS domains, indicating both modalities produced equally beneficial outcomes. Small sample size and focus on late-life depression screening limits generalizing results.Conclusions Video-enabled SP simulations can be incorporated to prepare students with IP competencies for late-life depression screening.

A Qualitative Evaluation of an Interprofessional Collaboration between an Academic Organization and Hospital Foundation Trust

Background: Research recognizes that collaborative working between academic organizations and clinical institutions may help realize the effective delivery of patient care. Yet, few studies report on the processes required to effect the necessary changes. Ths article reports on a research process that was delivered by a team of academics and clinicians that aimed to illuminate processes of interprofessional collaboration.Methods and findings: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants selected from both a university and a foundation trust. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Conclusions: The fruits of interprofessional practice and collaboration have beneficialeffects, especially for the patient. These are realized through the collegialefforts of stakeholders from each organization, where consistent effort, cooperativeand inclusive actions facilitate participative agency, resulting in rich relationships.

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Law: A Reflective Analysis of 14 Regulation Structures

Background: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is a key element of an efficienthealthcare system. Are healthcare systems structured to facilitate IPC?Methods and findings: Fourteen jurisdictions were chosen and researched usinglegal and social sciences databases. Generally, there was a lack of understandingof the legal principles in literature on policy and IPC. That aside, every jurisdic-tion had acts and regulation specific to health professions. There were numerouspathways to professional regulation and no clear consensus. Regarding IPC pres-ence in legal text, there were two main integration pathways: professional-basedand organization-based approaches.Conclusion: Although the practice of IPC is important, its presence in regulationis still discrete. If the aim is to strengthen IPC, there must be more socio-legalresearch to properly address and inform policymakers.

What Works in Rural IPE? A Study of Student Reflections

Background: Team-based care has been proposed as a way to utilize rural healthcare resources wisely. Thus, the need to educate healthcare profession students in the fundamentals of rural team-based practice has increased in recent years. Thisstudy sought to examine student reflections of a rural interprofessional practice and education (IPE) program in an effort to learn how students described their experience and what they valued.Methods and findings: Student reflection journals from a formal rural IPE program were examined for themes related to post-experience values, attitudes, and beliefs. In general, the time spent in rural IPE led to understanding what it means to live and provide care as a team to a rural community. One important new discovery is that social interactions outside formal IPE curriculum are central to achieving programmatic goals.Conclusion: Understanding the significance of rural IPE and how to guide students both inside and outside the clinical setting will help lead the development of future IPE. The findings of this study shed light on what students valued in a rural IPE experience and, thus, have implications for where institutional resources should be concentrated.

Interprofessional Learning through a Digital Platform

Background: Pedagogical methods that implement mutual learning are referredto as interprofessional learning. The aim of this study was to investigate nursing, biomedical science, and social education students’ experiences with interprofessional collaborative learning through a digital platform.Method: Students from three university colleges met virtually and discussed a video taped interprofessional case. After the project, three focus group interviewswere conducted. Findings: Three themes were identified: interprofessional collaborative learning, the use of a digital platform, and communication in virtual meetings.Conclusions: Interprofessional discussions made students aware of both their own responsibilities and limitations and those of other professionals, in the process of creating a mutual understanding of an interprofessional case scenario. the facilitator is crucial to ensure a safe atmosphere and include all students in the communication process.

Interprofessional Learning for Enhanced Patient Safety: Biomedical Engineering Students and Nursing Students in Joint Learning Activities

Background: In the last decade, research has highlighted the importance of interprofessional approaches to education and practice. Collaboration between medical practice and engineering has been identified as particularly relevant to developing accountable models for sustainable healthcare and overcoming increased specialization leading to professional barriers. This study aims to analyze insights and understanding expressed by nursing students and biomedical engineering students following a joint learning activity regarding a medical device used in the hospital setting.Method: A qualitative approach deriving from a phenomenological view examined an interprofessional learning activity where the focus was on active integration and knowledge exchange.Conclusion: The activity was expressed as a positive opportunity for getting insights into perspectives from other professional groups as well as insights into the importance of a system perspective in patient safety. The learning and insights listed in the evaluations included ideas about how the two professional groups could collaborate in the future.

Exploring Predictors for Teamwork Performance in an Interprofessional Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Course for Early Learners

Background: This study evaluated predictors of team development and performance on a final project in a large Interprofessional Quality Improvement and Patient Safety course.Methods and findings: Predictors examined were prior interprofessional teamwork experience and collective orientation preferences for dominance and affiliation. TheTeam Development Measure assessed perceived level of team development at the end of the course. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships, and only dominance was related to team development. Team development was not related to performance on the final project.Conclusions: This study is the first to simultaneously assess predictors of team development and the relationship between team development and course performance in interprofessional education. Although findings were not conclusive, several avenues for future study are highlighted.