Program Evaluation of an Interprofessional Educational Program

In recent years, interprofessional education has received increased attention. However, much of the literature in this area is a theoretical and lacking models that can be followed, suggesting the need for more conceptual development of approaches. IPE is a complex process and needs to be based on factors specific to institutions and participants, not on the assumption that one size fits all. Therefore, ongoing program evaluation is a critical activity in determining the effectiveness of various components of these programs. This presentation will highlight the development and significant evaluative contributions of the evaluation of a 2-year longitudinal university wide interprofessional education experience atThomasJeffersonUniversitysince 2007. The program studied brings together teams of students from medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health or pharmacy, who visits an individual with one or more chronic health conditions. Students work collaboratively to conduct life and health histories, review healthcare issues, and discuss expectations of patients related to healthcare providers. Evaluation began with the inception of this IPE program including student and faculty surveys, focus groups, reflection papers and course evaluations. Program evaluation is an iterative process. Surveys were administered to students at the beginning and end of their terms. While results reflected student attitudes were ‘high’, focus groups and course evaluations help dig deeper and led to several program changes including shortening some of the assignments and changing the logistics of the team meetings. Attitude surveys can provide information on a broad scale. However, by themselves, their value is limited. While, qualitative approaches also have limitations, they may provide more valuable in-depth information to identify strengths and weaknesses of a program. As a result, this project is now leaning more heavily on these approaches to gain valuable information from both students and faculty. Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this learning activity, participants should be able to: 1. Relate the evaluative contributions of the 2-year longitudinal university wide interprofessional education experience atThomasJeffersonUniversityto their own intuition. 2. Assess the various types of program evaluation methods discussed and apply them to their own needs

Using an Interdisciplinary Falls Assessment Clinic to develop collaborative team skills among medical and health professions students.

In new practice models, such as the Chronic Care Model, there is an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration; however health profession students have little or no opportunity to practice together during their educational training. Students need learning experiences in which they work collaboratively with groups in other disciplines to solve healthcare problems. The Eastern Pennsylvania-Delaware Geriatric Education Center (EPaD GEC) has developed an Interdisciplinary Falls Assessment Clinic which uses evidence based standard of care practice to evaluate and manage older adults who have fallen or at risk for falling. Older adults are at increased risk for falls and fall-related injuries, leading to loss of independence, disability, and increased mortality. The interdisciplinary clinic provides a clinical educational opportunity for students in medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, and social work to train and work together as an interdisciplinary team. The objective is for health care profession students to be able to identify roles and responsibilities of professionals on the health care team and practice communication and collaboration skills in a interprofessional care team. The Falls Assessment Clinic also provides an educational venue to increase the knowledge of students in medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, social work, and nursing regarding prevention and management of falls in the elderly. This session will focus on the educational impact of an Interdisciplinary Falls Assessment clinic to enhance interprofessional learning in geriatrics for health profession students. Based on the evaluation data, the interdisciplinary clinic facilitated the students’ recognition of the important roles each profession play in caring for a patient in a health care team. The experience of working in a team was reported as very rewarding and beneficial in increasing the students’ knowledge of teamwork in a clinical scenario. Students reported enjoying the team meeting experience and regarded this as a valuable part of their education. Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will: 1. Discuss common barriers and challenges to incorporating learners from different disciplines 2. Discuss strategies and methods to assess competency and evaluate learners from different disciplines in different stages of learning 3. Identify a strategy to develop and implement an interdisciplinary clinic at their home institution

Effect of the Health Mentors Program on Student Attitudes toward Team Care

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a key theme in preparing the future workforce, yet there is a lack of robust data documenting the benefits. Student attitudes toward IPE, a potential indicator of behavior, are often used as one measure of success. However, past research has shown that student attitudes about IPE are initially positive and show little change after an IPE experience. Attitudes toward team-based collaborative care may be a more sensitive measure of efficacy (Rose et al). The Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams (ATHTC) scale (Heinemann et al) was used to assess the Health Mentors Program (HMP), a 2-year longitudinal curriculum that brings entry-level interprofessional teams of students together with a person living with one or more chronic conditions and/or impairments. Students work as teams, and with the Health Mentor, over the course of the program to learn to work as a team and understand the patient perspective in delivering care. Students completed the ATHTC at matriculation and at program completion in Spring 2011. A paired samples t-test showed significant improvements in attitude mean scores between baseline and program completion in all disciplines with sufficient sample size. A paired samples t-test for students in all programs (n=173) found significant improvements (p=.000) in attitudes (baseline mean 3.27 (.45) and 3.75 (.58), while an ANOVA showed no significant differences between groups. Improved attitudes toward team-based care may be one important indicator of program success. A limitation of this study is lack of a control group of students not exposed to formal IPE. Next steps include measuring attitudes longitudinally during the remainder of training and into clinical practice. Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this learning activity, participants should be able to: 1. Recognize that student attitudes toward IPE, a potential indicator of behavior, are often used as one measure of success. 2. Assess the attitudinal tool discussed and apply them to their own needs to measure attitudes toward team-based care

Transforming Chronic Care Education: A Longitudal Interprofessional Mentorship Curriculum

Rationale: Future state of academic medicine demands preparing students for collaborative, team-based practice. Interprofessional education (IPE) is widely advocated as a key element to promote an effective redesigned healthcare system Evidence and curricular resources describing effective IPE remain limite