11.2 Staff Perceptions’ of IPE
Although there have been studies that examined students’ experiences of IPE, there
are not many that focus on staffs’ perception of interprofessional education. A study
that examined staffs’ perception of IPE was the first study conducted on the IPE unit
(Prentice, Jung, Taplay, Stobbe, & Hildebrand, 2016). The Assessment of
Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS) developed by Orchard, King,
Khalili, and Bezzina (2012) was used to survey the staff on the IPE unit and collect
data on their perceptions of interprofessional collaboration within the unit. The
participating staff reported that they respected each other, but felt that they needed
more organizational support to further develop their team skills and noted that they
needed additional time for team reflection and to make adjustments to team processes. Educational strategies to assist the staff working on the IPE unit were
implemented based on the findings from this study (Prentice et al., 2016).
11.3 The Impact of the IPE Unit Study
The aim of this pilot qualitative exploratory case study (Salfi, Prentice, Podwinski,
Triemstra, & Hildebrand, 2019) was to enhance understanding of the influence of the
IPE unit on the development of collaborative competencies of health and social care
students. Grounded by the national collaborative competency framework (CIHC,
2010) this study collected data using a pre/post online open-ended survey measure to
assess for change in how students practiced and provided client care
(interprofessional approach vs. uni-professional approach). Student participants
(n ¼ 42) from nursing, rehabilitative sciences, and medicine were recruited using
purposeful sampling strategies, and data were analyzed to reveal a number of key
findings. First, it was revealed that there were no significant changes in students’
approach to care planning and patient care (only in 20% of participants), but there
was significant change reported in the use of collaborative language (70%) and
change in knowledge regarding the requirements/facilitators for interprofessional
collaboration (90%).
Key themes that were revealed from the data in this study described the importance of communication and respect, the importance of dedicated time and opportunities for IPE, the importance of mentors and role modeling in IPE, and the
ongoing battle with professional stereotypes despite IPE. The study called for the
ongoing investigation of learning outcomes from student experiences on the IPE unit
to ensure that the unit is maximizing this unique learning experience for the students
and preparing them for effective interprofessional collaborative practice as planned.
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D. Prentice and J. Salfi
Although there have been studies that examined students’ experiences of IPE, there
are not many that focus on staffs’ perception of interprofessional education. A study
that examined staffs’ perception of IPE was the first study conducted on the IPE unit
(Prentice, Jung, Taplay, Stobbe, & Hildebrand, 2016). The Assessment of
Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS) developed by Orchard, King,
Khalili, and Bezzina (2012) was used to survey the staff on the IPE unit and collect
data on their perceptions of interprofessional collaboration within the unit. The
participating staff reported that they respected each other, but felt that they needed
more organizational support to further develop their team skills and noted that they
needed additional time for team reflection and to make adjustments to team processes. Educational strategies to assist the staff working on the IPE unit were
implemented based on the findings from this study (Prentice et al., 2016).
11.3 The Impact of the IPE Unit Study
The aim of this pilot qualitative exploratory case study (Salfi, Prentice, Podwinski,
Triemstra, & Hildebrand, 2019) was to enhance understanding of the influence of the
IPE unit on the development of collaborative competencies of health and social care
students. Grounded by the national collaborative competency framework (CIHC,
2010) this study collected data using a pre/post online open-ended survey measure to
assess for change in how students practiced and provided client care
(interprofessional approach vs. uni-professional approach). Student participants
(n ¼ 42) from nursing, rehabilitative sciences, and medicine were recruited using
purposeful sampling strategies, and data were analyzed to reveal a number of key
findings. First, it was revealed that there were no significant changes in students’
approach to care planning and patient care (only in 20% of participants), but there
was significant change reported in the use of collaborative language (70%) and
change in knowledge regarding the requirements/facilitators for interprofessional
collaboration (90%).
Key themes that were revealed from the data in this study described the importance of communication and respect, the importance of dedicated time and opportunities for IPE, the importance of mentors and role modeling in IPE, and the
ongoing battle with professional stereotypes despite IPE. The study called for the
ongoing investigation of learning outcomes from student experiences on the IPE unit
to ensure that the unit is maximizing this unique learning experience for the students
and preparing them for effective interprofessional collaborative practice as planned.
134
D. Prentice and J. Salfi