Building great health care teams: enhancing interprofessional work readiness skills, knowledge and values for undergraduate health care students

ABSTRACT

Collaborative ways of working have become increasingly important as healthcare adopts a more team-based approach to patient care. Interprofessional education (IPE) addresses some of the challenges associated with collaborative working and is increasingly offered to learners pre and post qualification. This article reports on a three-day IPE program designed to enable undergraduate health professional students develop interprofessional (IP) work readiness skills, knowledge, and values while undertaking clinical placement in a hospital setting. The curriculum built participant skills in culturally safe IP collaboration (IPC); focused on strategies for providing quality care to indigenous peoples and communities, and overtly linked IP competence to organizational mission and values. It highlighted the patient voice and displayed both the human cost of poor team communication and the comfort family members gained from watching united treating teams working with skill, compassion, and kindness. Twenty-four students from seven healthcare disciplines completed the program (N = 24). The Work Self-Efficacy Inventory (WS-Ei) and the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS) assessed participant IP skills, knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, and confidence before and after program completion. A paired sample t-test showed an increase in mean scores in all responses on both scales. Results suggest that participation in the IPE program resulted in substantial shifts in knowledge, skills, and values as evidenced by changed assumptions and worldviews, enhanced knowledge and skills concerning IPC, improved understanding of other professional roles and increased confidence in managing workplace experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional education
• work-based learning
• under graduate
• patient-centred practice
• quantitative method

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the valuable contribution to curriculum development and delivery made by colleagues at both institutions with a special thank you reserved for Ms. Margaret Bramwell and Ms. Helen Brake. We would also like to thank Dr. Zhixin Liu for advice regarding data analysis.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Annie Venville

Annie Venville BBSc, BSW, MRCllg, Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip Hlth Res Meth, PhD, is Associate Professor and Head of Social Work at Victoria University Melbourne, Australia. Her teaching and research is underpinned by 25 years of professional social work experience. Annie is a strong advocate for interprofessional education, practice and collaboration.

Paul Andrews

Dr Paul Andrews BSW, MSW, PhD, is the Social Work Professional Educator at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney (SVHS) Australia. This role provides leadership in clinical work, education and research for social work staff and students across the campus. He has worked in public health settings for most of his career with brief stints in academia and as a couple and family therapist in private practice. Paul is the lead for student interprofessional education at SVHS.