Abstract:
This study presents an exploration of professional healthcare students’ experiences with interprofessional education. The current body of research related to interprofessional education focuses largely on students’ attitudes towards interprofessional education and interprofessional collaborative practice. However, little research exists regarding the ways in which students apply these collaborative concepts in their traditional coursework or in their clinical education experiences. As programs continue to implement different interprofessional education experiences, research should continue to advance the understanding of the impact of these events. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how students in professional level healthcare education programs experience structured interprofessional education activities, particularly in relation to their coursework and clinical education experiences. The following research questions guided this study (1) what are healthcare students’ thoughts regarding interprofessional practice following at least one structured interprofessional education activity, (2) how do healthcare students believe their interprofessional education experiences influence their clinical practice behaviors, (3) how do students feel they are able to integrate the knowledge and skills to which they are exposed during an interprofessional education experience into their traditional coursework?. Three main themes emerged from the data, (1) defining professional
roles and responsibilities, (2), developing an interprofessional mindset, and (3) design factors related to interprofessional education. These findings provide insight into how interprofessional education activities impact students’ thoughts related to coursework and collaborative practice as well as their clinical practice behaviors. Additionally, these findings have implications for faculty and administrators creating interprofessional education events.
