The purpose of this study was to develop and test an interprofessional socialization (IPS) framework through assessing the impact of an IPS-based interprofessional education program on interprofessional socialization and dual identity development among health professional students. Although health professional educational programs have been successful in equipping graduates with skills, knowledge and professionalism, the emphasis on specialization and profession-specific education has enhanced the development of a uniprofessional identity, which has been found to be a major barrier towards Interprofessional Person-Centered Collaborative Practice (IPCPCP). Despite the growing acknowledgment of IPS in the current IPE and collaborative practice literature, there is a lack of research investigating the IPS process that learners should move through in order to develop dual identity, leaving educators with little guidance as how to facilitate the implementation of IPS. Dual identity for IPCPCP requires interprofessional learners to develop a sense of belonging to, and simultaneously identify themselves with both individual’s own profession and that of the interprofessional community.
This study sought to address this gap by first developing an IPS conceptual framework which was utilized to develop the IPS-based IPE program intervention in the study, and then examine the impact of this IPS-based IPE program on students’ IPS and dual identity development. The IPS framework, underpinned by social identity and the intergroup contact theories, posits that transformation from a uniprofessional identity to a dual identity occurs through a three-stage process: 1) breaking down barriers; 2) interprofessional role learning; and 3) dual identity development. To measure the dual identity, a new instrument called the ‘dual identity scale (DIS)’ was developed and validated (prior to the main study). In this study a concurrent embedded mixed-method with quasi-experimental design and repeated measures (3 times) was used. One hundred and eight pre-licensure students from seven different health professions were recruited. The study intervention was comprised of two workshops with the first focused on Professional Education and Cross Disciplinary Collaboration (W#1) and the second on Interprofessional Socialization (W #2). Participants completed a set of three instruments and demographic information: DIS, Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS), and Individualism-Collectivism Scale. Participant reflections and workshop group audio-taped discussion were also used to collect the qualitative data. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using Latent Growth Curve modeling to assess the growth and change patterns of students’ dual identity development across the study. Qualitative data analysis was carried out utilizing thematic content analysis.
The integrated quantitative and qualitative findings supported the impact of the IPS-based IPE program on assisting students to begin transforming their uniprofessional identity into a dual identity. No significant inter-individual differences were found among the participants that could otherwise be explained by the personal factors. However, some statistically significant correlations between the students’ dual identity level and personal factors were observed. All this resulted in a revised IPS framework in which the stages of socialization were retained
