How Do Students Enact Group Reasoning Within Online Interprofessional Education?

Background: The capability of an interprofessional healthcare team to reach a shared understanding through group reasoning is critical to good healthcare delivery. Models for clinical reasoning have proved useful but remain focused on individual cognitive processes. Whilst interprofessional education has steadily gained real-world traction, it is unclear how interprofessional student groups practice group reasoning when performing online tasks. Method: We analyzed the group reasoning processes with two teams of health professional students in an online interprofessional education task (n = 13). Two simulated interprofessional team meetings about a palliative case were audio recorded, transcribed, and deductively analyzed to determine the mechanisms of team deliberation using a previously published study of group reasoning.Results: The reasoning mechanisms outlined in a previous study (informationaccumulating, sense-making, and decision-making) were evident in an analysis of student group reasoning. In particular, students focused on sharing and agreeing on information, and to a lesser extent, recording information. Conclusion: Attention to the mechanisms of action may be useful to facilitate teaching interprofessional reasoning. Group reasoning may benefit from focusing student attention on these stages: 1) prioritizing and sequencing of options, methods for exposing agreement about shared information, shared understanding of the situation, and options; 2) techniques for critically evaluating information so that opportunities arise to identify when information may disrupt existing understandings; and 3) development of documentation tools to assist recording of the process

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 Acceptability of Physiotherapy Care in Emergency Departments: An Exploratory Survey of Emergency Department Physicians

Background: Interprofessional emergency department (ED) models of care, including physiotherapists, have emerged to answer growing demands for ED care. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of ED physicians regarding ED physiotherapy.Methods and findings: Ninety-five ED physicians, members of one of two ED physicians’ associations in the province of Québec, completed a survey (response rate = 14.7%). Most had a positive perception of physiotherapists’ competencies (96.8%) and were confident that ED physiotherapy care is safe and efficient (96.8%).Conclusions: Based on responses from this limited sample, ED physicians have a positive perception of ED physiotherapy models of care.Keywords: Emergency department; Physiotherapy; Advanced practice physiotherapy;Acceptability; Models of car

Large-scale Blended Learning Design in an Undergraduate Interprofessional Course in Norway: Students’ Perspectives from an Exploratory Study

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess learning outcomes and student satisfaction after participating in a large-scale interprofessional (IPL) blended learning course.Methods and findings: In this cross-sectional study, students from health, social care, and teacher education programs completed two questionnaires. The majority were satisfied with the blended learning approach. The IPL group discussions resulted in learning outcomes that were two times higher than those from traditional instruction, including lectures and assignments. Health and social care students reported lower learning outcomes and satisfaction than teacher education and child welfare students (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The study demonstrated the feasibility of the blended learningapproach. However, IPL activities that are explicitly inclusive for all studentsshould be created for future courses

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

Preparedness for Interprofessional Learning: An Exploratory Study Among Health, Social Care, and Teacher Education Programs

Background: Interprofessional learning (IPL) research is mainly restricted to health students. The purpose of this study was to assess the IPL preparedness of students from health, social care, and teacher education programs.Methods and findings: This project comprised an exploratory cross-sectionalstudy and online questionnaire. Of the 221 students included, the majority hadlearned about their own future role. In contrast, less than 20 percent had learnedabout other roles.Conclusions: This study suggests that teacher education and health and social carestudents were not equally prepared for IPL. Future research should explore howeducators may balance an unequal understanding of roles among students

Achieving Consensus on the Values and Activities of all Healthcare Educators: A Mixed-Methods Study

Background: To facilitate a stronger recognition of the importance of the healthcare educator role and clearer communication regarding IPE, consensus is needed regardingn the values and areas of activity that all healthcare educators share, regardless of professional group.Methods and findings: A five-phase consensus process was used, consisting of a survey and search to identify guidance documents, a literature review and text analysis, a face-to-face consensus meeting, a novel workshop to develop organizing principles, and a two-stage Delphi consultation. This consensus process resulted in a nine-item list of shared values and 25 activities sorted into four domains.Conclusion: This article reports the development of a rigorous and collective consensus statement on the core values and activities shared by all healthcare educators. This is a necessary preliminary to establishing the groundwork on which interprofessional educational initiatives can be built

Nutrition Students’ Experiences of Interprofessional Learning in a Nursing Home

Background: Interprofessional experience is vitally important for nutrition students, as nutritionists often find themselves working independently in a team with other professionals. Few studies have explored qualitatively how nutrition students perceive learning activities in an interprofessional setting.Methods and Findings: Third-year bachelor’s degree nutrition students participated in a focus group interview after interprofessional learning in a nursing home. A qualitative study with a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach was conducted to investigate lived experiences. One theme emerged from the data analysis: A professional understanding of oneself and others. Being acknowledged as a professional, being an active participant, and collaborating to enhance resident care were revealed as sub-themes.Conclusions: A short period of interprofessional learning in an authentic setting may expand students’ experiences and enhance professional confidence

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