A longitudinal study of health professional students′ attitudes towards interprofessional education at an American university

Risa Liang Wong, Deborah Bain Fahs, Jaideep S. Talwalkar, Eve R. Colson, Mayur M. Desai, Gerald Kayingo, Matthew Balanda, Anthony G. Luczak, Marjorie S. Rosenthal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Efforts to improve interprofessional education (IPE) are informed by attitudes of health professional students, yet there are limited US data on student characteristics and experiences associated with positive attitudes towards IPE. A cohort of US medical, nursing, and physician associate students was surveyed in their first and third years, using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale. Information was also collected on demographics and experiences during training. Health professional students differed in their attitudes towards IPE; characteristics associated with having more positive attitudes at both time points included being a nursing student, female, older, and having more previous healthcare experience. Students who participated in interprofessional extracurricular activities (particularly patient-based activities) during training reported more positive attitudes in the third year than those who did not participate in such activities. Based on these findings, schools may consider how student characteristics and participation in interprofessional extracurricular activities can affect attitudes regarding IPE. Building on the positive elements of this interprofessional extracurricular experience, schools may also want to consider service-learning models of IPE where students work together on shared goals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)191-200
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Interprofessional Care
Volume30
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 3 2016

Keywords

  • Education
  • interprofessional collaboration
  • interprofessional education
  • interprofessional learning
  • surveys
  • teamwork
  • workbased learning

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A longitudinal study of health professional students′ attitudes towards interprofessional education at an American university'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this