Analysis of interprofessional education perceptions at the team level: A study across three student cohorts

The stated goals – and therefore manifest functions – of Interprofessional Education (IPE) are to bring students of various health professions together to cultivate mutual understanding and respect for each occupation’s role(s) and foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork to promote more effective and efficient care. Yet, there are telling gaps within IPE literature regarding the application of role theory to IPE pedagogy and research. In this work, we apply a sociological lens and the tenets of role theory to identify and analyze: (a) the apparent tensions nested within IPE aims with respect to issues of role specificity and role blurring; (b) the lack of attention paid to possible role adjustment strategies utilized by IPE students; (c) ambiguities within the IPE (and IPC) literature regarding the role(s) of the patient, including a failure to adequately acknowledge the status hierarchy of health-care delivery; and (d) how IPE may serve as a catalyst to reframe understandings of the physicians as ‘team leader’. In addressing these issues, we suggest discipline-specific qualities that sociologists bring to IPE research, and future directions and applications for sociologists interested in exploring elements of IPE.

Purpose: The Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel (IPEC) has identified four competencies essential for interprofessional functioning in the health professions. Those four competencies are (a) values/ethics for interprofessional practice, (b) roles/responsibilities, (c) interprofessional communication, and (d) teams and teamwork. Design of effective curricula to develop competence in these skills will improve interprofessional functioning in healthcare. The purpose of this study at a small northeastern university was to examine impact of a small group interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum on student awareness of one of the competencies, understanding roles and responsibilities. Methods: The quantitative study data consisted of student completion of a 13-item self-report questionnaire based on the four competencies of IPE after participating in two interprofessional events in the same semester (one large group introductory event and one small group case event). Students were enrolled in professional educational programs, including counseling psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant. Students were divided into groups of 8-10 students from participating academic programs forming interprofessional groups. They completed a 13-item self-report questionnaire based on the four competencies after each of the two events. Results: Results of Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference between the first and second events, multivariate F (13, 476) = 24.61, p = .000. Results of univariate ANOVAs revealed significant differences for each variable, with scores from the case study session higher on each item than scores for the opening event. Factor analysis of data from the opening event yielded a single factor, which accounted for 63.4% of the variance in the scale. Factor analysis of data from the small group case event also yielded a single factor accounting for 65.9% of scale variance. Cronbach’s alpha revealed a very high internal consistency of .951 and.952, for the two events respectively. Conclusions: IPE events can positively increase self-report measures of IPE competencies. The assessment tool used may have measured one overarching construct of collaboration. The tool represents an initial effort toward measurement of each of the four specific competencies, an area in need of refinement. This study demonstrated impact of IPE events housed within an IPE curriculum.

Introduction: Interprofessional education (IPE) has emerged as an essential component of training for students in the health and social care professions. Standardised patients (SPs) have also been developed as an important simulation-based learning modality in health and social care curricula due to the authenticity and realism of the patient or client encounter that may be replicated. Reports evaluating the use of SPs across an IPE curriculum in the health and social care professions are limited. Methods: This evaluation study used a causal-comparative research design to examine the effect of SPs as an instructional method in an IPE curriculum. Evaluative outcomes of the educational experiences of students attending 37 IPE learning modules offered between Autumn 2006 and Winter 2012 were analysed. Results: A total of 6,561 students from seven health and social care professions rated the usefulness of the instructional methods used in each module through post- module surveys. Students consistently rated SPs as significantly more useful than other instructional methods, and overall mean satisfaction scores were significantly higher for IPE modules that incorporated SPs. Conclusions: This study’s findings demonstrate the positive effect that SPs can have on the learning experiences of health and social care students. By Using SPs in IPE curricula, the authenticity of classroom-based interprofessional learning experiences can be enhanced and lead to more positive IPE learning outcomes.

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.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic required higher education institutions to quickly transition to a virtual platform. This was challenging for those involved in interprofessional education (IPE), given the goal that students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with one another. The Big Ten IPE Alliance is a subgroup of the larger Big Ten Academic Alliance. The purpose of this paper is to share the collective experiences of multiple large, research intensive universities in addressing the challenge of implementing IPE programs under the conditions established by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: To better understand how the Big Ten schools dealt with the transition to virtual learning for didactic and clinical IPE given the COVID-19 pandemic, a subset of representatives from the Big Ten IPE Alliance met to discuss best practices for virtual learning in the IPE realm. Each participating university completed an electronic 14 question survey related to their IPE curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 thru August 2020 and the responses were analyzed. Results: Four categories were identified as needing to be addressed to develop and implement successful interprofessional didactic and clinical experiences. The categories identified included content/assessment, virtual technologies, faculty and facilitators, and learners. Conclusions/Recommendations: Consider including authentic and innovative mechanisms to deliver IPE experiences that meet the learning needs and accreditation requirements. Interinstitutional collaborations such as within the Big Ten IPE Alliance can be beneficial in assessing current and future best practices in IPE.

Background and Purpose. The need for developing collaborative practice–ready health care providers, along with new interprofessional education (IPE) accreditation standards, highlights the importance of IPE in physical therapist education curriculum. As we strive to meet the goal of preparing students for collaborative practice and team-based care, the TeamSTEPPS system can be integrated into IPE programs to assist in the provision of quality health care and in the prevention of medical errors. Emory University (Emory), Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC), and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have integrated TeamSTEPPS into their IP classroom- and practice-based curricula. The purpose of this paper is to describe how these academic health centers have embedded TeamSTEPPS into their IP curricula, with the goal of assisting academic and clinical faculty with the development and implementation of learning activities directed toward the development of IP competency. Method/Model Description and Evaluation, Outcomes. The IPE models used by Emory, KUMC, and MUSC use the TeamSTEPPS framework and are described with select evaluation measures and outcomes. The Emory and KUMC models are primarily classroom based, whereas the MUSC uses a combined classroom- and clinic-based model. Although each institution's model for IP training and assessment is different, all have shown positive results. Discussion and Conclusion. With new IPE accreditation standards for most health professions programs, using TeamSTEPPS is a strategy to assist in meeting the standards for IPE training and a larger goal of improving the quality and safety of patient care.

Interprofessional Education (IPE) is a feature of many social work curricula and whilst content is difficult enough to agree, implementation raises further challenges. In 2006/7, IPE was introduced for six undergraduate professionally qualifying programmes, including social work, at Bournemouth University. Challenges included moving beyond shared teaching to collaborative learning; providing parity of learning experience for large student numbers (n = 600+) unevenly spread between professions across a wide geographical area; and supporting staff in adapting to changing learning and teaching practices. Embracing opportunities for technology supported learning, a virtual town known as Wessex Bay was developed in partnership with service users and carers and embedded in the IPE curriculum, accessed through the university Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Blackboard. Populated by providers of health and social care services, service users and carers and other residents, it enables the facilitation of interprofessional learning and collaborative practice using evolving scenarios. Evaluation using an iterative action research approach was undertaken. Emerging themes for both staff and students include technology issues, teaching and learning strategies, and professional identity. This paper discusses some of the implications for technology supported learning in situations where social work students are engaged in IPE.

Interprofessional education strategies are becoming more prevalent as nursing schools integrate interprofessional practice activities into their curricula. This paper presents the results of a federally funded project to deliver online interprofessional education to nursing students on screening for alcohol and substance use in rural areas, in which their perceptions about interprofessional education were measured. A quasi-experimental within-subjects repeated measures design was utilized. Students in the bachelor or associate degree program were recruited from two rural nursing schools. A demographic questionnaire, Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Questionnaire, Drug and Drug Problems Questionnaire, and Interprofessional Education Perception Scale were utilized. General linear modeling was used to determine changes in these measurements over time. Data collection was performed at pretraining, posttraining, and following an online interprofessional dialogue. The study consisted of 89 nursing students. The participants were 87% female (n = 77/89) and 91% white (n = 81/89); their mean age was 24.9 years (standard deviation = 10.36). Analysis of evaluation questionnaires demonstrated increased levels of confidence in working with patients who consume alcohol or other drugs and on certain aspects of interprofessional education. Online interprofessional preservice education holds the potential to positively increase nursing students' confidence in working with patients and to increase their interprofessional practice.

Shadowing is described as an interprofessional education (IPE) learning activity where a student of one discipline shadows a registered health professional or student of another discipline. To date, research examining the educational effectiveness of the shadowing learning activity has largely focused on students shadowing registered health professionals. This study explores if and what students learn, and the factors that influence their learning, when they shadow students from other disciplines. This ethnographic, case study observational research used indepth analysis to undertake a fine-grained examination of interprofessional learning gained through student's peer shadowing of each other in a 5-week IPE programme in a rural setting. Both the students who were shadowing and students who were being shadowed were observed to learn in the activity and this learning was multifaceted. It included learning about another discipline's roles, skills and philosophies and the different training programmes, as well as personal and professional concerns and also wider aspects of health care. Peer teaching resulted in active and sometimes reciprocal learning and students were for the most part confident and enthusiastic. Peer shadowing involving senior students of different disciplines where interaction and social engagement occur, promotes meaningful and comprehensive interprofessional learning, including enhancing understanding of interprofessional collaboration as well as other aspects of professional and social practice. It is important for educators to prebrief the students about the goals of peer shadowing and advise them to prepare themselves for the learning activity, but once done, incorporating peer shadowing within IPE curricula provides an effective learning activity in which all students benefit.

The future of health professions education: Emerging trends in the United States.

BackgroundAlthough on the rise, there are still insufficient Interprofessional Education (IPE) learning opportunities for healthcare students and young professionals. Thus, the Swiss Health Alliance for Interprofessional Education (SHAPED, www.shaped-ip.ch) has developed a new IPE activity: the Interprofessional (IP) Pub Quiz. This study assessed the pilot-implementation of said IP Pub Quiz at Bern University of Applied Sciences during fall semesters 2023 and 2024.MethodsHealthcare students in their 4th and 9th semester from nursing, physiotherapy, midwifery, nutrition & dietetics, and pharmacy were divided into IP groups of 5–7 students and took part in the 90-minute IP Pub Quiz. Questions were designed to not solely query profession-specific knowledge, but to hone IP clinical reasoning. To quantify the impact of said IP learning activity on participants, the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education–Revised (SPICE-R) instrument was used in a pre-post design.ResultsFrom 333 pre- and 216 post-questionnaires 197 pairs could be identified and included. The overall mean improved significantly (t(197) = -7.42, p < .001, 95% CI [-0.21, -0.12]) from pre- (3.93 points; SD ± 0.38) to post- IP Pub Quiz (4.09 points; SD ± 0.43). The improvement was greatest for the factors roles & responsibilities and teamwork. No difference based on occupational group, gender or semester could be found.Discussion & ConclusionParticipating healthcare students showed a positive perception of IPE and collaborative practice which was further improved through the IP Pub Quiz. Limitations include the lower response rate in the post-questionnaire (non-response bias) and the missing control-group (time effect).Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-025-07903-3.

Background: This paper retrospectively reports on an evaluation framework applied to a local interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum design. The theoretically informed IPE curriculum spans the undergraduate health and social care programmes of over 10 professions as a curriculum theme. The teaching design and its impact were informed by psycho-social and learning theories.Aims: This meta-analysis is presented to share the importance of longitudinal IPE, whole curriculum evaluation for comparisons and to advance our understandings of what works and why.Method: The meta-analysis used the Presage, Process and Product conceptual framework outlined by Biggs in 1993, and the Kirkpatrick in 1996, evaluation outcome model. Data are shared on the final overall learning from evaluating the teaching and the outcomes from students, teachers, practitioners, patients and carers.Results: The evaluation highlighted cyclical issues relating to students experiences, facilitators abilities and highlights the challenges of learning in practice which was highly praised by students. The problems and challenges were solved through the application of theory to illuminate our understandings.Conclusion: We lament at missed opportunities for the application of theoretically informed research questions that still require to be addressed. However, we share this framework as having offered a complete and comprehensive evaluation process.

Patient care is improved when health-care providers work collaboratively as teams. However, many institutions have not fully embraced these concepts and are not providing sufficient opportunities for their current health-care professional trainees. For institutions to properly educate health-care providers to be practice ready in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) teams upon graduation, faculty training programs are critical. Faculty development efforts in interprofessional education (IPE) must be strategic in their design and implementation, include a dedicated and experienced leadership team, and have adequate financial support. In this paper, the authors describe a faculty development program designed to promote IPE among multiple health-care professions. A three-session interdisciplinary faculty development series was developed, incorporating peer coaching, mentorship, self-directed learning, assignments, and lecture-based presentations as principle learning activities. The major learning objectives of this series were to (1) understand the roles and responsibilities of interdisciplinary team members, (2) identify challenges of an interprofessional approach to patient-centered care, and (3) apply collaborative approaches to the health-care needs of the patient. Strategies to promote active learning opportunities were planned for all three sessions, designed to encourage participants to learn with, about, and from each other to improve health outcomes. Upon completion of the series, participants expressed positive changes in perception of IPE and shared learning but remained divided in opinion of the practicality of working in health-care teams. The authors conclude that designing and implementing an interprofessional faculty development program takes time and is an ever-evolving process, requiring shared vision, commitment, flexibility, and sustained administrative support.

Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares health students to become collaboration-ready healthcare professionals. Assessing students’ baseline attitudes toward IPE and collaborative practice is essential to inform development of IPE curricula. Kuwait University Health Sciences Center (HSC) is early in its IPE journey but is planning to join the broader global movement toward IPE. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore the attitudes of HSC students from Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Health Sciences toward collaborative practice and IPE at early and late stages of study. A total of 770 students completed the survey (81.1% response rate). Students expressed positive attitudes toward interprofessional healthcare teams and IPE (median [IQR] overall attitudes were rated 4.0 [1.0] and 4.0 [2.0], respectively, on a scale of 5). Overall attitudes toward both scales were significantly more positive among pharmacy students than students from other faculties (p < .001). Final-year students reported more positive attitudes toward healthcare teams than early- and middle-year students, while early- and final-year students expressed more positive attitudes toward IPE than middle-year students (p < .001). There were no significant differences in overall attitudes between female and male students toward the two scales (p > .05). These findings have implications for engaging students from different professions in IPE initiatives.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an emergent topic that has received considerable attention during the recent years among health science educators in a variety of fields and at all levels. This chapter discusses the present state of simulation in pre-professional interprofessional health science education and describes eight attributes associated with programs that have established successful IPE curricula. Finally, it will discuss relevant concepts necessary to support programs as they work to establish sustainable pre-professional interprofessional simulation experiences.