Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Collaboration Among Students in the Health Care Professions

Abstract

This study examined whether attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration (Physician-Nurse, Physician-Social Worker, Nurse-Social Worker) held by medical, social work, and nursing students changed after completing an interprofessional curriculum consisting of (a) Interprofessional Education Development Session and (b) the Senior Aging and Geriatrics Educator mentoring program. The 15-item original and two modified versions of the Jefferson School of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration (JSAPNC) were administered as pretest/posttest. Of the 186 participants who completed the pretest, 156 (84%) completed the posttest. Results showed that the medical students (n = 52) reported the most positive change in attitude toward all three pairs of interprofessional collaboration. Social work students (n = 55) reported the least positive attitudes toward Physician-Social Worker collaboration and nursing students (n = 49) reported the least positive attitudes toward Physician-Nurse collaboration. It is recommended to evaluate the interprofessional curriculum and other factors, such as the possible influence of the facilitator in group discussions, and that future studies include a rigorous design that monitors content of each educational session to ensure integrity across groups. Postgraduate follow-up measures could be used to enhance positive attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Dr. Mario Jacomino of the College of Medicine, Dr. Beth King of the College of Nursing, and Drs. Allan Barsky and Paulina Martinez of the School of Social Work, all at Florida Atlantic University, for their support in conducting pretests and posttests and collecting demographic information about the participants.

Notes

*p < .05, two-tailed, paired-samples t test, comparing the mean scores at pretest and posttest.