Abstract
A longitudinal study evaluated the effects of interprofessional education (IPE) experiences on 71 rehabilitation science graduate students' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration (IPC). Physical therapy, OT, and speech-language pathology students rated their perceptions of IPC and their knowledge of other disciplines' roles across their first year of graduate school. IPE experiences are an important aspect of professional preparation.
Primary Author and Speaker: Sarah Elkington
Contributing Authors: Connie Summers, Celia Pechak, Patricia Lara, and Francesca Hernandez
Interprofessional education (IPE) is a critical component in preparing health professions students for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) to provide quality services for patients. The Accreditation Counsel for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) also supports IPC in academic programs (ACOTE, 2011, p. S8). Previous studies have supported that IPE experiences contributed to increased knowledge of other professions and improved perceptions of teamwork (Pechak, Summers, Schoen, Padilla, Lara, Velasco, & Capshaw, 2018; Pechak, Summers & Velasco, 2018). However, these studies evaluated only a single IPE experience. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate students' knowledge of IPC and perception of the roles and responsibilities of other professions across their first year of graduate school. Seventy-one graduate students from Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) graduate programs participated in the study. Participants completed a pre-survey and then a post-survey after each of two IPE events during the first year of their program. Students were invited to participate in the study through informed written consent at the time that the pre-survey was administered. The survey consisted of five demographic questions, twenty-seven Likert- scale questions from the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS; Norris et al., 2015), and one open-ended question about the roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals in a case study format. Two focus groups (each one hour in duration) were conducted following each of the respective IPE events. The average age of the participants was 22.6 years at the time the pre-survey was completed. Fifty participants (70.42%) identified as female, seventeen (23.94%) as male, and four participants (5.63%) preferred not to respond. Forty-eight participants (67.61%) identified as Hispanic, twenty-two participants (30.99%) as non-Hispanic, and one participant (1.41%) did not respond. Non-parametric Friedman tests were used to determine if there were differences in scores on the subtests of the IPAS across time. Post hoc analysis utilized the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test with pairwise comparisons using a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Pairwise comparisons were considered significant at p < .017 level. Teamwork (p = .005) and Community-Centered (p = .007) scores were statistically significant from the pre-survey to the first post-survey. Patient-Centered scores were statistically significant from pre-survey to the second post-survey (p = .015). Diversity/Ethics scores were not significantly different across time. Three Bias questions were analyzed individually due to the unique bias aspect of each question. All Bias question scores were significantly different from the pre-survey to the post-survey (Bias 3.1, p = .001; Bias 3.2, p = 001; Bias 3.3, p = .007). A qualitative analysis of the responses for the open-ended case study question will provide additional insights into students' knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of each discipline. Content analysis is ongoing. IPE increased the students' positive perceptions about IPC. Students also increased their knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of other disciplines. Across time, their descriptions changed as they interacted with each other. It is unclear if changes in students' perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of other disciplines are due to IPE experiences and/or other graduate study experiences. IPE contributes to the American Occupational Therapy Association's Vision 2025 for OT to be inclusive and diverse for their clients and professional peers. Future studies will consider other student experiences that contribute to students' IPC perceptions.
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. (2011). 2011 Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE®) Standards. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, S6–S74.
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Pechak, C., Summers, C., Schoen, B., Padilla, M., Lara P., Velasco, J., & Capshaw, S. (2018). Development and preliminary assessment of interprofessional education focused on vulnerable populations. Journal of Allied Health, 47(3), e77-e83
Pechak, C., Summers, C., & Velasco, J. (2018). Improved knowledge following an interprofessional interpreter-use training. Journal of Allied Health, 47(3), 159-166.