Readiness for interprofessional learning among healthcare professional students

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes toward interprofessional learning among first year medical, nursing, and physician associate students at an American university at the start of their training. MethodsFirst year medical (n=101), nursing (n=81), and physician associate (n=35) students were invited to complete an anonymous online survey which included items related to demographic information and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Scores were compared by the general linear model and Duncan’s multiple range test while controlling for demographic differences. ResultsAll three groups scored in the high range, indicating readiness for shared learning. Female students, those with advanced degrees, and those with healthcare experience prior to enrolment in health professional school had significantly higher scores than their counterparts. After controlling for differences in demographic factors, nursing students scored significantly higher than physician associate and medical students (F (2,162) = 6.22, 0.0025). ConclusionsHealth professions students demonstrated readiness for interprofessional learning early in their academic programs, however important differences in baseline readiness emerged. These findings suggest that educators consider baseline attitudes of students when designing interprofessional education curricula, and use caution when extrapolating data from other geographies or cultures.

New strategy in education of health professionals in Serbia: Analysis of students’ readiness for inter-professional education

“…Students' attitudes among five educational profiles in this study, assessed by RIPLS, indicate students' readiness for IPE. Similar results were obtained in previous studies as well [4][5][6][7][8][9][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Accordingly, there were differences among students' attitudes based on their study profile both in our study and studies conducted in other countries [4,6,7,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…Demographic data and results for each statement in the RIPLS scale were analyzed by means of descriptive analysis including frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation (SD). In order to calculate the RIPLS total score, the responses were first reversed for the statements with negative connotation [6,11,14].…”

“…Some authors suggest that these results reflect different learning styles between men and women. Namely, women are more ready to accept the IPE because they are more inclined to listen, understand and accept attitudes of other people [6,11,18].…”

“…Despite being internationally recognized as an important educational strategy, the integration of IPE into the standard curriculum remains a significant challenge [5]. Numerous barriers in implementation and achievement of positive IPE outcomes are described in the literature, and students' baseline attitudes such as stereotyping and prejudice are often cited as the biggest barrier of all [6][7][8]. Negative students' attitudes can be a major barrier in the learning process, and it is important to know the concept of "the readiness for IPE", that is, to assess students' attitudes towards IPE because it underlies the essence of accepting this educational strategy [8].…”

Nursing staff’s and physicians’ acquisition of competences and attitudes to interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration in pediatrics

“…In our study nurses rated the value of IPE higher than physicians but no differences were observed regarding the value of IPC. Previous work show an unclear picture: Some studies showed that nursing students were more ready for IPE than medical students [36,37]. Another study reported nurses perceived IPE and IPC less important than physicians [38].…”