See It – Do It – Learn It: Learning Interprofessional Collaboration in the Clinical Context

摘要

Background: The primary goal of the Interprofessional Education in Geriatric Care (IEGC) project was to design, deliver, and evaluate interprofessional (IP) clinical placements for pre-licensure learners in geriatric day hospitals. Methods: Project evaluation was guided by the modified Kirkpatrick's Model of Educational Outcomes. Using a controlled before-after design, the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS), Team Skills Scale (TSS), and Knowledge Questionnaire were administered to intervention and control learners pre-, post-, and 6 months post clinical placements. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics. Qualitative data collected through journals and questionnaires were analyzed using content analysis. Findings: Eleven IP clinical placements occurred at 3 test sites involving 32 intervention and 11 control learner participants. There was no significant change, over time, in the ATHCTS quality of care and physician centrality scores for the combined group (i.e., intervention and control) and between intervention and control groups. Time effects were noted in the quality of care scores for the intervention group after controlling for prior IPE (p = .031). The Knowledge scores were higher for the intervention group compared with controls over time (p = .004). Both intervention and control groups demonstrated significant improvements in their TSS scores over time (p = .000), although there was no significant difference in the magnitude of the change between groups (p = .112). Themes observed through qualitative analysis of learners' journals and post-program reflective questionnaires supported the quantitative findings. Conclusions: The IEGC experience was valuable to senior pre-licensure learners in helping them understand collaborative patient-centred practice and team skills. Future research should strive for larger sample sizes through multi-site projects to allow for comparisons within and between clinical sites.