Background and Objectives: Interprofessional education (IPE) is considered by the World Health Organization “a necessary step in producing collaborative practice-ready health professionals.” In the Philippines, the ability to “work collaboratively within interprofessional and multi professional teams”, was identified by the Commission on Higher Education as one of the outcomes common to all health-related professions programs. Although steps were taken to integrate IPE in health professions education, majority of academic institutions in the country are yet to implement this. This study aimed to present the implementation of an online IPE module about the community health workforce among dental, medical and pharmacy students in a national health sciences university. Methodology: The IPE module was developed and facilitated jointly by an interprofessional team of faculty engaged with the Community Health and Development Program of the University of the Philippines Manila. A total of 48 students from the Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy participated. Teaching-learning activities used in the sessions included lectures, small group discussions, interviews, case study, large group discussions, and reflections. Results: Insights gained by the participants included the complementary roles of health care workforce in the community, importance of communication and role understanding for better provision of care, the challenges that the workforce experience and their roles as future health workers in promoting collaborative practice by demonstrating respect and professional equality. Conclusion The module has shown that IPE activities may be successfully implemented through remote learning if done with proper planning and execution with the commitment of faculty facilitators.
Interprofessional Education

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Interprofessional Education (IPE) is a necessary step in preparing a collaborative practice- ready health workforce that is better prepared to respond to local and global health needs. This study examined the status of IPE implementation in Asian nursing schools in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region (WPR).

METHODS

Descriptive online survey research design was utilized, supplemented by online interviews. Purposive sampling was done wherein nursing schools, colleges, and universities were invited to nominate a representative to serve as respondent in this study. Descriptive approach was used to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.

RESULTS

A total of 29 Asian nursing schools participated in the survey. Majority (82.76%) of them stated that they have an IPE program or a similar activity. Interviews with the respondents revealed that not all IPE opportunities were part of a formal IPE program, but were embedded in the different learning activities of nursing students. A clear program focus served as one of the facilitators of IPE implementation. Identified barriers included insufficient administrative support and lack of trained faculty to implement IPE and related activities.

CONCLUSION

IPE is present in most Asian nursing schools in WPR. They may not exactly be called or recognized as IPE, but there is the existence of programs and activities that bring together health and non-health science students to learn from, about, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. It is recommended that massive formal training should be conducted so that educational institutions and their faculty will be equipped in developing more formal programs, facilitate activities, and monitor implementation and progress.

Interprofessional Education ; Education, Nursing

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is a kind of education that fosters an environment of teamwork and collaboration among various healthcare professionals, such as midwives, nurses, and doctors. Identifying midwifery, nursing, and medical students’ IPE readiness, perception, and attitude is critical to formally and effectively implement IPE programs in the curriculum. Objective: This study determined the readiness, perception, and attitude for IPE and the relationships between them, including the personal characteristics of the Midwifery, Nursing, and Doctor of Medicine students enrolled in a stepladder and community-based health science tertiary institution in the Philippines. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed involving 166 students selected through a stratified random sampling technique who were drawn from the three health programs. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), and Interprofessional Attitude Scale (IPAS) were used to assess students’ readiness, perception, and attitude toward IPE, respectively. Pearson’s r-moment correlation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to determine correlations between the variables. Results: High scores were demonstrated on the students’ readiness, perception, and attitude toward IPE. A significant correlation was found between prior exposure and readiness to IPE. Further, a significant and positive correlation was found between the students’ readiness, perception, and attitude toward IPE. Preparing students for interdisciplinary learning may promote positive perceptions and attitudes. Conclusions Midwifery, nursing, and medical students had a high readiness, perception, and attitude toward IPE. IPE readiness, perception, and attitude were correlated to one another. The study recommends formally incorporating IPE in the stepladder and community-based curriculum, such as embedding IPE concepts and competencies in the program specifications.
interprofessional education ; midwifery ; nursing ; medicine

The passing of The Occupational Safety Health Act and the subsequent release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report had resulted a stronger sense of awareness towards workplace and patient safety in the Healthcare Industry. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended Interprofessional education as one of the preparative module in handling safety issues in the healthcare Industry.The aim of this paper was to evaluate the students’ knowledge, perception, attitude, interrelationship, inclusion, understanding and teamwork towards patient and workplace safety.The research was conducted by administering questionnaires to returning allied health students from their internship in the healthcare settings. The overall results indicated that 63.4% of the students Agreed, 18.3% Neutral, 17.9% Strongly Agreed and only 0.3% had Disagreed on the impact of Interprofessional education towards patient and workplace safety in the Healthcare Setting.Occupational Safety Health and Interprofessional Education are relatively new concepts in Malaysia and require a strong understanding before a strong concluding stand could be established. The researcher feels a more concurrent approach should be implemented to actually know the impact of Interprofessional education towards patient and workplace safety in the healthcare settings.
Interprofessional education ; patient safety ; workplace safety ; allied health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of perceived readiness for interprofessional learning and its differences between nursing and other health-related students. Methods METHODS: A web-based survey was conducted from April 25 to June 30, 2017 in one university in Korea. A total of 325 undergraduate nursing students and other health-related disciplines completed the structured questionnaire consisting of Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and general characteristics. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The scores of readiness for interprofessional learning in nursing students were significantly higher than those in other health-related students (t=3.50, p=.001). Nursing students had higher collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibilities than other health-related students. The class experiences with other major students was a significant factor related to the readiness for interprofessional learning both in nursing (p=.001) and other health-related students (p=.001). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that nursing educators consider the different level of readiness for interprofessional learning between nursing and other health-related students while integrating interprofessional education into nursing education curricula.
Cooperative Behavior ; Curriculum ; Education ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations ; Korea ; Learning ; Linear Models ; Nursing ; Students, Nursing

PURPOSE: This study aimed to collect information that is needed to develop interprofessional education curricula by examining the current status of interprofessional conflicts and the demand for interprofessional education. METHODS: A total of 95 doctors and 92 nurses in three university hospitals in Seoul responded to a survey that comprised questions on past experience with interprofessional conflicts, the causes and solutions of such conflicts, past experience with interprofessional education, and the demand for interprofessional education. RESULTS: We found that 86% of doctors and 62.6% of nurses had no interprofessional education experience. Most of them learned about the work of other health professions naturally through work experience, and many had experienced at least one interprofessional conflict. For doctors, the most popular method of resolving interprofessional conflicts was to let the event pass; for nurses, it was to inform the department head. Further, 41.5% of doctors and 56.7% of nurses expressed no knowledge of an official system for resolving interprofessional conflicts within the hospital, and 62.8% of doctors and 78.3% of nurses stated that they would participate in interprofessional education if the opportunity arose. CONCLUSION: In Korean hospital organizations, many doctors and nurses have experienced conflicts with other health professionals. By developing an appropriate curriculum and educational training system, the opportunities for health professionals to receive interprofessional education should expand.
Curriculum ; Education* ; Head ; Health Occupations ; Hospitals, University ; Interprofessional Relations ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Seoul

Background and Objectives: The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) is mandated by law to, among others, develop capacities and accredit physicians and rehabilitation practitioners across the country on the assessment and management of drug dependence. This paper describes the design and presents the outputs of an advanced course on screening and assessment of drug dependence developed by DOH in partnership with the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines Manila, Philippine College of Addiction Medicine, and the Group for Addiction Psychiatry of the Philippines.

Methodology: Review, abstraction and synthesis of data from training-related documents and records for the training activities implemented in 2014.

Results: The Level 2a course is a five-day program that focuses on enhancing the skills of physicians and rehabilitation practitioners on the screening and assessment of drug dependence using team-based and practical learning approaches, and builds on learnings from the basic accreditation course. A total of 36 participants from ten Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers (DATRCs) in nine regions completed the pilot implementation of the course in 2014. In general, the overall participant feedback on the training was mainly favorable based on data from 47% of participants who agreed or strongly agreed to statements on the relevance and attainment of the course aims (mean rating of 1.10±0.31, 1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree), and the appropriateness of its content (1.24±0.43) and design (1.18±0.39). A paired-samples t-test comparing scores for 44% of participants showed that there was a highly statistically significant difference in the pre-test (54%±13%) and post-test scores (69%±10%); t(16)=6.4240, p <0.0001.

Conclusion: Development and design of capability-building initiatives in the field of drug rehabilitation will necessitate alignment with practice standards, grounding in the real-world setting in which professionals work, and orientation towards practical learning.

Education ; Interprofessional Relations ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers ; Physicians ; Nurses ; Psychology ; Social Workers

PURPOSE: Interprofessional communication skills are an essential competency for medical students training to be physicians. Nevertheless, interprofessional education (IPE) is relatively rare in Korean medical schools compared with those overseas. We attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of the first IPE program in our school. METHODS: In the first semester of the school year 2018, third-grade medical students (N=149) at the Seoul National University College of Medicine participated in ‘communication between healthcare professionals in the clinical field’ training, which consisted of small group discussions and role-play. To evaluate the effectiveness of this training, we conducted pre- and post-training questionnaire surveys. Comparing paired t-tests, we evaluated the students' competency in interpersonal communication and their attitude towards the importance of IPE before and after the training. The Global Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (GICC-15) was used to evaluate competency in interpersonal communication. RESULTS: Out of 149 students, 144 completed the pre- and post-training questionnaires. The total GICC-15 scores before and after training were 55.60±6.94 (mean±standard deviation) and 58.89±7.34, respectively (p=0.000). All subcategory scores of GICC-15 after training were higher after training and were statistically significant (p<0.05), except for two subcategories. The importance of IPE score also improved after training but was not significant (p=0.159). The appropriateness of content and training method scores were 3.99±0.92 and 3.94±1.00, respectively. CONCLUSION: From the results, our school's IPE program demonstrated a positive overall educational effect. Deployment of systematic and varied IPE courses is expected in the future, with more longitudinal evaluation of educational effect.
Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations ; Mental Competency ; Methods ; Role Playing ; Schools, Medical ; Seoul ; Students, Medical

For the last half-century, interprofessional education (IPE) has been identified and discussed as a critical educational process to facilitate collaboration in order to improve healthcare outcomes for healthcare participants. While the concept is not new, outcome-based research has provided few valid and reliable explanations of whether and how IPE can be effective in healthcare quality improvement. This challenge stems from the struggle to understand the epistemological meaning of IPE. The purpose of this literature review paper is to provide a synthesized understanding of IPE, its meaning, and to provide practical guidance for medical educators. The paper reviewed several key aspects of IPE. Professionalility was discussed to understand the historical background of IPE, followed by an explanation of the international trend of embracing the complexity of health care practice and the need for interprofessional collaboration. Additionally, several theoretical perspectives, such as general systems theory, social identity theory, and community of practice were reviewed to pinpoint what constitutes IPE. Several existing definitions were discussed with similar concepts (i.e., disciplinary vs. professional, and multi-, inter-, vs. trans-) to clarify the nature of knowledge and collaboration in IPE. Three concepts, including practice, authenticity of context, and socialization were proposed as key constructs of IPE, followed by appropriate timing of IPE, outcome research, directions for future research, and guidance for implementation. Community-based medical education practice, professional socialization within a community, and longitudinal system-based outcome research are recommended as future directions for research and practice.
Cooperative Behavior ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Education, Professional ; Interprofessional Relations ; Professional Practice ; Quality of Health Care ; Social Identification ; Socialization ; Systems Theory

INTRODUCTIONThe Rural Interprofessional Programme Emergency Retreat (RIPPER) is an educational programme collaboratively developed and evaluated by an interprofessional team from Schools within Faculty of Health Science (FHS), University of Tasmania (UTAS), Australia. The aims of RIPPER are to foster and facilitate positive and productive interprofessional learning experiences for undergraduate students in a rural setting; and to develop a firmly embedded and sustainable interprofessional healthcare module within the health science curriculum. This paper reports on the development of a reliable and valid survey tool to evaluate students' understandings and experiences of this interprofessional learning programme.

MATERIALS AND METHODSTwenty-nine students from the Schools of Nursing, Medicine and Pharmacy of the FHS, UTAS participated in the RIPPER programme which offers a number of interactive rural emergency healthcare scenarios using high- and low-fidelity simulation. To evaluate the programme a survey which consisted of 2 main components was developed and implemented before and after the programme. The first component was designed to gather students' demographic information, their understanding of the interprofessional practice concepts, and their expectations of the RIPPER programme using open-ended questions. The second component consisted of a 5-point Likert scale for students to rank their level of agreement pre- and post- intervention with 12 statements about team working, programme evaluation and collaborative learning. Three processes were used to establish the validity and reliability of the survey. Content validity was assessed by academics and experts in health science education. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis. The internal consistency and reliability of the survey was checked using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

RESULTSFactor analysis of the 12 statements identified 3 main factors including appreciation of professional roles and responsibilities, improved professional practice based on effective teamwork and the importance of students learning and working together for improved clinical practice. Reliability of the survey was established. The survey is able to evaluate students' understandings and experiences of this interprofessional learning programme.

Australia ; Female ; Health Occupations ; education ; Health Personnel ; education ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations ; Male ; Rural Health Services ; Rural Population ; Students, Health Occupations ; psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires