Search Results (6)

Interprofessional learning (IPL), where nursing students learn how to work with multiple health professionals in their future practice to deliver the highest quality of care, has become an essential feature of undergraduate nursing programs. Intraprofessional learning (IaPL) is where individuals of two or more disciplines within the same profession collaborate; however, there is a dearth of literature investigating its effects in nursing education. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of IaPL on the development of nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for collaborative practice. The study will utilize a mixed methods approach with surveys conducted at six time points across two years of two nursing programs and focus groups at the end of the program. Participants will be recruited from the Diploma and Bachelor of Nursing programs at an Australian Training and Further Education institute. Four specific IaPL educational experiences incorporating simulation will be developed on aged care, mental health, complex care and acute care. The study will provide nursing students with multiple opportunities to develop the necessary capabilities for collaborative practice. It will longitudinally evaluate nursing students’ attitudes towards IaPL and examine whether IaPL motivates Diploma of Nursing students to pathway into a Bachelor of Nursing degree. The study will also investigate awareness amongst nursing students of the scope of practice, roles and responsibilities of the nursing team. Full article

Professional students need to train in online interprofessional collaboration (IPC). During a longitudinal evaluation for 2018–2022 of an interprofessional learning (IPL) curriculum, nearly 7000 students from health, social care, and teacher education programs completed indicator questions concerning learning about child-related topics and skills required for IPC during their first, second, and third curriculum years of study. The students worked in student-led IPL groups according to a case-based learning approach. Online IPL yielded lower mean scores than in-person IPL. The decreased learning outcomes from year 2 to year 3 for the IPL initiative are not due to the online delivery mode. The lack of reported progress in the IPL courses is more likely due to students not experiencing a gain in IPL learning outcomes. Significant differences were found between teacher education and child welfare students and health and social care students, reflecting IPC challenges in working life. We conclude that online IPL is forward-looking because candidates must be prepared for online IPC and for helping users, such as children, online. Although our data support that IPL is complex, the learning experience has tremendous transfer value to welfare services because we assume that the same issues will appear in IPC. Full article

Collaboration in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) teams is a part of working in welfare services. Unlike uniprofessional supervision, interprofessional supervision involves supervisors and students with different educational backgrounds. This study explores 105 supervisors’ responses after synchronous supervision of 15,700 students from teaching, health, and social work education programs who participated in an annual preservice interprofessional learning (IPL) course from 2018 to 2022. The purpose was to explore supervisors’ experience of the online IPL supervisor role and of the student’s learning outcomes through a longitudinal mixed-methods repeated design. Response rates: 61%, 45%, 82% and 40%, respectively. The students worked in IPL groups with limited interaction with supervisors, using a case-based learning approach. The supervisors were supportive of IPL but suggested changes to increase relevance. The imbalance in the knowledge base on child-related topics and IPL preparedness among the student groups was challenging. Some questioned the need for supervision, whereas others were concerned about the limited time allocated for supervision. We conclude that online supervision is forward-looking because candidates must prepare for helping users, such as children and their next-of-kin, online. We deduce that online supervision is relevant for the future and less complicated than IPL supervision Full article

Higher education institutions must prepare students from health, social, and teacher education programs for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among children and young people with challenging childhood experiences. We wanted to explore if digital small group rooms, breakout rooms, are feasible for students to learn about, from, and with each other in an interprofessional learning (IPL) initiative, in order to practice IPC. This study is a repeated cross-sectional study from the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22 with 5412 students. The students worked in student-led IPL groups with a case-based learning approach and limited interaction with supervisors. The youngest students agreed to a larger extent that they learned more about, from, and with other students. The teacher students were more positive towards discussing sensitive issues in breakout rooms than the health students. The health students agreed to a larger extent than the teacher students that breakout rooms were suited for pre-service IPC training. The results from this study indicate that breakout rooms provide a potential arena to practice generic skills. If properly organized and structured, breakout rooms can be an excellent learning resource. Breakout rooms provide a safe online environment for learning and practicing IPC, and for training on talking about sensitive issues. Full article

Interprofessional learning (IPL) is essential to prepare healthcare trainees as the future public health workforce. WHIRL (Workplace Health InteRprofessional Learning) was an innovative IPL intervention that engaged volunteer healthcare trainees (n = 20) in multi-professional teams to deliver health checks (n = 464), including tailored advice and signposting, to employees in the UK construction industry (across 21 events, 16 sites, 10 organisations) as part of an ongoing research programme called Test@Work. Volunteers undertook a four-part training and support package of trainer-led education, observations of practice, self-directed learning and clinical supervision, together with peer mentoring. In a one-group post-test only design, IPL outcomes were measured using the Inventory of Reflective Vignette-Interprofessional Learning (IRV-IPL), and the psychometric properties of the IRV-IPL tool were tested. WHIRL demonstrably improved healthcare trainees’ interprofessional skills in all five areas of collaboration, coordination, cooperation, communication, and commendation. The IRV-IPL tool was found to be a valid and reliable measure of interprofessional competencies across three scenarios; before and after health promotion activities, and as a predictor of future health promotion competence. This industry-based workplace IPL programme resulted in the attainment of health check competencies and bridged the gap between research, education and clinical practice. Full article

The Trent Universities Interprofessional Learning in Practice (TUILIP) project aimed to establish interprofessional learning (IPL) for healthcare students in clinical practice settings. Ten IPL facilitators were employed in eight varied practice setting pilot sites for up to a year to research, develop and run locally appropriate, sustainable IPL initiatives. Following the pilot phase, a qualitative evaluation was conducted in each site by means of interviews or focus groups with all key stakeholders (facilitators, clinical managers, practitioners, students, service users, carers). Data collection was guided by Kirkpatrick’s evaluation framework (1996), which focuses upon participant reactions, and their perceptions of learning, behaviour change and sustainable impact. In keeping with this framework, participants were asked to discuss their experiences of TUILIP in their placement setting (including its facilitation), and their opinions about its impact and success in terms of learning, behaviour change and sustainability. We report a subset of evaluation results relating to the roles of the facilitator, facilitation processes, experiences and challenges, personal and professional impact upon facilitators, and implications for IPL projects in practice. Facilitation tasks included preparing the ground, earning credibility, gathering ideas, researching feasibility, developing initiatives, involving service users, trialling and embedding initiatives. Facilitators were faced with challenges such as getting a focus, time limitations and dealing with logistics. They reported highs (being a fly on the wall, protected time, their educational role, and a sense of satisfaction) and lows (loneliness, frustration and fear of failure), but considered they had developed personally and professionally as a result of their experiences. Results demonstrated the complexity and demands of establishing and facilitating IPL initiatives in practice settings. Facilitation was time-consuming and effortful and did not always achieve its aims, but was a source of satisfaction and personal development. These findings suggest higher education institutions and practice settings should consider carefully the selection, preparation and support for facilitators of practice-based IPL, as well as how to engage local practitioners and service users, and embed changes in the clinical setting. Full article