Online interprofessional education in dietetic students

Abstract

Aim:The need for dietetic students to develop interprofessional collaborative practice capabilities is well recognised. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of an online interprofessional education (IPE) unit (using asynchronous and synchronous media) to improve dietetic students' confidence in understanding professional roles and attitudes associated with interprofessional practice along with exploring their experience in the unit. Methods: Final year master of dietetic students undertaking a compulsory online unit in IPE were invited to complete a questionnaire examining their confidence in understanding professional roles and their interprofessional attitudes both pre-and post-delivery of the unit, and to participate in semi-structured telephone interviews to explore their experience in the unit. Results: Thirty-five dietetic students completed the questionnaire pre-and post-unit, along with seven students undertaking a telephone interview. Their confidence in understanding the roles of other health professions (P = 0.000 to 0.014), self-assessment of interprofessional communication and teamwork skills (P = 0.002) and attitudes towards interprofessional interaction (P = 0.001) and interprofessional relationships (P = 0.002) increased significantly from pre-to post-unit. The students articulated positives about the experience (flexibility of the delivery, opportunity to reflect on personal factors related to teamwork, increasing their knowledge of other professions) and some challenges (lack of body language, some technological difficulties, the need for regular contribution to the teams' asynchronous discussion boards). Conclusions:This study suggests that although there can be some challenges in online IPE, it can be a positive experience and can improve dietetic students' collaborative practice attitudes and confidence in understanding other professional roles.

Dietetics workforce preparation and preparedness in Australia: A systematic mapping review to inform future dietetics education research

“…A total of 68 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review . Fifty‐seven studies were identified from the search of 3779 records (Figure ) with an additional 11 studies identified through hand searching.…”

Dietetics students’ experiences of dietetics workforce preparation and preparedness: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis

“…A recent review of research in dietetics workforce preparation found that students were the most frequently studied of all participant groups (33) . However, much of the research to date has taken a piecemeal approach and focused on single, selected aspects of student's educational experiences; for example, assessment (34) , simulation (35,36) , problembased learning (37) , interprofessional learning (38,39) , clinical activities (40)(41)(42) , volunteering (43) , research (44,45) and reflective practice (46,47) . Despite this body of evidence, the experiences of dietetics students regarding their education and preparation for the workforce have not been systematically synthesised.…”

Online Non-Technical Skill Simulation: Enhanced Interprofessional Education: Changes in Attitudes and Behaviors of Health Professions Graduate Students

“…Variations within each of these factors (and in research design) present roadblocks to a clear path forward, resulting in a deficit of understanding about SIM-IPE. Additionally, there is even less of an understanding of online NTS (ONTS) use and its effectiveness as an educational tactic (Evans, Ward, & Margerison, 2016;Munshi et al, 2015) for health professions educators. Taken together, insufficient understanding and the ubiquitous nature of the use of technology for IPCP provides the impetus to pursue further discovery within the realm of ONTS SIM-IPE.…”