Ready to collaborate?: medical learner experiences in interprofessional collaborative practice settings

Abstract

Background: Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) offers great potential to improve healthcare. Increases in IPCP will require educating learners in authentic IPCP settings and will generate opportunities and challenges. Methods: In January 2015, we implemented an IPCP model called Collaborative Care (CC) for hospitalized adult medical patients. We explored learner perspectives regarding their educational experiences. We deductively coded transcripts from semi-structured interviews with medical learners. Data related to educational experiences were thematically analyzed. Results: Twenty-four of 28 (85.7%) medical learners rotating on CC from January to May 2015 completed interviews. Subsequent inductive analysis of these interviews identified four themes: Loss of Educational Opportunities during Rounds, Feelings of Uncertainty during New Situations, Strategies for Adaptation, and Improved Communication with Patients and the Team. Conclusions: Increased implementation of IPCP will lead to a greater number of learners being exposed to authentic IPCP settings and will generate opportunities and challenges. Though learners perceived improved communication skills in an IPCP model, they also described loss of profession-specific learning opportunities and feelings of uncertainty. These findings corroborate the need for novel teaching methods aligned with IPCP clinical learning environments and educational assessment strategies that reflect attainment of both profession-specific and interprofessional competencies.

How Do They Learn: Types and Characteristics of Medical Student Engagement in the Simulation-Based Learning Environment

“…Interprofessional education research evidence provides a clear indication that it can improve collaborative attitudes/perceptions and knowledge/skills necessary for collaborative practice [35]. It also reinforces the union of medical students from different majors when studying together, such as clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiologists and health managers [36]. By solving complex clinical problems together, it encourages exchanges and interactions between students of different majors, thereby promoting the establishment and development of professional responsibility and professional leadership.…”

How Do They Learn: Types and Characteristics of Medical Student Engagement in the Simulation-Based Learning Environment

“…Interprofessional education research evidence provides a clear indication that it can improve collaborative attitudes/perceptions and knowledge/skills necessary for collaborative practice [37]. It also reinforces the union of medical students from different majors when studying together, such as clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiologists and health managers [38]. By solving complex clinical problems together, it encourages exchanges and interactions between students of different majors, thereby promoting the establishment and development of professional responsibility and professional leadership.…”

A systematic review of evidence-based practices for clinical education and health care delivery in the clinical teaching unit

“…Sixteen studies focused on interprofessional rounds, 21,22,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] of which 9 studies were either medium or highquality (Table 3). Reported benefits of this practice included a perceived increase in collaboration 22,62,65 and communication 21,22,57,60,65,66 among health care teams; a highquality time series study also reported earlier discharge times.…”

“…Interprofessional rounds may improve team collaboration and communication, and enhance discharge planning. 21,22,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67] Moderate confidence…”

“…High quality 56,63 Medium quality 21,22,55,61,62,64,65 Low quality 54,[57][58][59][60]66,67 Geographic wards may improve team efficiency and interprofessional collaboration. 14,28,56,68 Moderate confidence There are moderate concerns regarding adequacy and relevance.…”