Using Technology to Overcome Interprofessional Education Barriers

Common barriers cited for implementing interprofessional education (IPE) and practices are space constraints, scheduling and time conflicts, full curricula, lack of knowledge and skills related to collaborative practice, and accessibility to other disciplines. Due to these significant barriers, IPE necessitates the development of innovative technological teaching modalities, which provide both didactic and experiential approaches. Using Quality Matters™ standards for designing and evaluating online courses, five interprofessional (IP) online learning activities were developed at a large Midwest academic medical center. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel (IPEC, 2011) rationale for IPE and their four domains for collaborative practice were the framework for the learning activities (LA). Using Blackboard™ as the online platform, LA were inserted in selected courses across programs/disciplines in a timed yet asynchronous event for a period of one week. Each LA time commitment was approximately two hours over a five-day week. Students (n = 187) from six professions (advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, medicine, nutrition, medical lab science, and pharmacy) in nine courses participated. There were 32 interprofessional teams facilitated by six faculty members. Team engagement included viewing videos and short narrated Power Points, and completion of quizzes, case studies, self-reflections or other team assignments and discussions. Feedback from students (n=134) was positive with 70% of students either choosing “agree” or “strongly agree. Participation in the LA increased both their interest (M=2.79/4.0) and knowledge (M=2.78/4.0) of IPE and practice. Twenty-eight students specifically noted strengths of the online format in additional comments. The online learning activities provide foundational knowledge and skill development for interprofessional collaborative practice in a virtual environment. In conclusion, preliminary data supports that these online LAs are a novel approach to teaching IPE. Utilizing existing university resources, LAs are a cost effect method to teach and overcome barriers to IPE. Objective 1: By the end of this presentation, the participants will be able to identify at least three barriers or challenges to interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Objective 2: By the end of this presentation, the participants will be able to describe why online learning activities are an effective strategy to overcome barriers to interprofessional education

The Big Opportunity: Advancing a Culture of Interprofessionalism

Historically, education has been siloed by disciplines leaving little room for interprofessional education to take place. Culture within an academic organization determines the strategies, modes of operation, goals, values, and terminal student learning outcomes. Using Kotter’s accelerated change management model, as a worksheet for educational cultural change, is an effective method to break complacency, generate ideas, align people, and overcome resistance to change

Formative Debriefing in Team Observed Simulation Encounters to Promote Team Performance

To bridge the gap between interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), educators need to foster innovation in healthcare education. Students need opportunities and experiences to practice team skills prior to patient encounters. One innovation includes the use of high-fidelity interprofessional simulation in the form of Team Observed Structured Clinical Encounters (TOSCEs) with standardized patients (SP) and realistic case scenarios. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the impact of formative debriefing on team-based performance during TOSCEs. At a large academic medical center, 49 health profession students from the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, and Graduate College volunteered to participate in an interprofessional education program. Prior to participating in TOSCEs students completed two interactive student workshops on: 1) Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPEC) domains and 2) chronic disease self-management with motivational interviewing. Fourteen interprofessional student teams (IPST) were formed. Teams consisted of 2-3 students representing a minimum of two disciplines. They were assigned to participate in two separate TOSCEs. The IPST evaluated their individual and team’s performance using the McMaster-Ottawa and the Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide (JTOG), respectively. Facilitators with established inter-rater reliability guided a formative debriefing session and evaluated the teams’ performance after both TOSCE 1 and 2. Paired t-tests documented improvement in pre-post McMaster-Ottawa and JTOG scores for participants across all four IPEC domains. A comparison between mean ratings of TOSCE 1 and 2, given by students and facilitators, showed a significant difference (p Learning objectives: The learners will be able to define the IPEC domains The learners will be able to list tools for evaluating interprofessional team members and team functionality. The learners will be able discuss the debriefing process as a formative learning experience to increase competencies in the IPEC domains