Effect of introducing interprofessional education concepts on students of various healthcare disciplines: a pre-post study in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background The value of interprofessional education (IPE) in nurturing healthcare professionals, and in shaping their professional identities, and their attitudes towards interdisciplinary teamwork and collaboration is established in the literature. IPE is an emerging concept in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and is new to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To date, the applicability and feasibility of IPE and of the corresponding collaborative practice in MENA countries remain largely unexamined. Purpose To investigate the effect of one of the first experiences of IPE in the UAE, which was purposefully designed in alignment with the principles of the Situated Learning Theory (SLT), on the readiness for interprofessional learning and collaboration among students of various healthcare disciplines in the UAE. Methods A pre-post intervention quantitative research design was adopted for this study. The intervention focused on communication skills, and consisted of 2 tailor-made case-based scenarios. A total of 90 students (40 medical, 16 nursing, 16 pharmacy, and 18 physiotherapy), spread across two sessions (1 session per academic year across 2 academic years), took part in the IPE intervention. Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was used as the pre- and post- intervention assessments; aggregate data was analyzed using SPSS. Results Of those who participated in the intervention (across both rounds), 77 participants responded to the pre-assessment (85. 6%) and 84 responded to the post-assessment (93. 3%). The IPE intervention under investigation significantly increased the level of readiness to engage in cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration among participating health professions’ students. In terms of the subscales, the participants’ openness to engage in teamwork was raised and their professional identity was fostered. Yet, no statistical significance around clarity of roles and responsibilities was detected. Conclusion The findings of this study encourage other universities in the MENA region to adopt IPE to improve future health professionals’ capacity to develop shared understanding and mutual respect within cross-disciplinary teams. This, ultimately, feeds into improved quality of care and patient outcomes.

In the New Multimedia Era, “Post-90s” Counselors Do a Good Job of Adaptive Education Path Research for “Post-00s” Freshmen

“…e special growth environment has cultivated the independent values of the "post-00s." According to social chemistry, people will produce certain values in the process of development to meet the social needs of the social environment [18], namely, self-awareness (define yourself according to the opinions and achievements in a field), reality (actively obtain resources to develop your field), adaptation (accept the differences between peers and yourself), adaptation (know who to show what image), equality (talk to anyone in the same way), care (care about your team) [19], and so om. e lifestyle of "post-00" groups living in various cultural exchanges is richer and more diverse, so it is reflected in the "post-00" ideology, that is, more diversified.…”

Readiness for Interprofessional Education Among Health Profession Students in a University in the United Arab Emirates

“…However, a recent study from UAE reported that students are willing for IPE and reported positive outcomes in terms of students' willingness to engage in inter-disciplinary learning and collaboration. 27 As reported in this research, students perceived team working skills to be vital for all healthcare students. These skills can be developed through IPE as reported by Shrader et al 46 wherein the authors found that community-based IPE could help health professional students develop their skills in collaborative practice.…”

“…However, a recent study from UAE reported that students are willing for IPE and reported positive outcomes in terms of students’ willingness to engage in inter-disciplinary learning and collaboration. 27 …”

“…This tool has been used by previous researchers in UAE. 27 In addition, authors checked the Cronbach alpha of all the completed responses (n=215) and found it to be 0.834 suggesting a good level of internal consistency.…”

Action research to foster knowledge and understanding of medical and health sciences students about patient safety in a climate of interprofessional education

“…A large body of literature has argued that IPE leads to improved patient outcomes and quality of care by team-working, shared decision-making, and increased patient satisfaction [3] [4]. Additionally, IPE is associated with increased job satisfaction among healthcare workers and improved e ciency and delivery of patient care.…”