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ABSTRACT
Complex learning strategies, like interprofessional training wards in which students work autonomously in interprofessional collaboration, can support the development of interprofessional competencies in terms of knowledge, abilities and attitudes. To assess the short-term and long-term effects of a three to five weeks placement on such an interprofessional training ward on nursing and medical undergraduates, a study with pre-post-follow-up design was conducted from April 2017 until February 2019. Outcome measures were the University of the West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire (UWE-IP), the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS), and the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS) measuring interprofessional competencies, including teamwork, communication, interprofessional learning, collaboration, and socialization. 60 medical and 63 nursing undergraduates of the first 16 interprofessional student teams that were placed on the Heidelberg interprofessional training ward (HIPSTA) between April 2017 and November 2018 were included in the study. Data was analyzed using the linear mixed model analysis for longitudinal comparisons of scores before, directly after and three months after the placement on the interprofessional training ward. Statistically significant positive short-term effects in interprofessional competencies were found in all three questionnaires, with effect sizes up to d = 1.05. Statistically significant positive long-term effects with effect sizes up to d = 0.60 were found in the ISVS and the AITCS concerning socialization and collaboration. These results indicate that interprofessional education in a clinical setting positively influences the participants’ perception of interprofessional socialization and teamwork. This may possibly lead to improved interprofessional collaboration in their further career. Strategies to yield a sustainable improvement of attitudes toward interprofessional interaction are still needed.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. http://www.allgemeinmedizin.uni-hd.de
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Notes on contributors
Johanna Mink
Johanna Mink is a research fellow and doctoral student at the Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany. Her fields of study are interprofessional education and collaboration. Further research interests are technology and digitalization in nursing, competency development, socialization and role clarification of pre- and post-graduate health care professionals.
Anika Mitzkat
Anika Mitzkat, M.Sc., is a nursing scientist and researcher at the Dept. of General Practice and Health Services Research. She coordinates the BA program „Interprofessional Health Care“. Her research interests are the learning processes and outcomes of interprofessional teams.
Katja Krug
Dr. sc. hum. Katja Krug is a Research Fellow at the Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital Heidelberg. She studied Psychology (Dipl.) and Statistics (B. Sc.). Her research is focused on health care issues of caregivers and patients at the end of life. Other research interests include quality of life (assessment), interprofessional education, and development of assessment instruments.
André Mihaljevic
Prof. Dr. med. André L. Mihaljevic, M.Sc. is an attending surgeon at the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg. Working at one of the world´s largest pancreatic cancer centres, he is interested in surgical oncology. He is an avid medical teacher and was involved in designing, setting up and running Germany´s first interprofessional training ward (HIPSTA) together with an interprofessional team. Besides medical education he is interested in clinical research and was involved in creating the clinical trial network of the German Surgical Society (CHIR-Net; www.chir-net.de). He serves as co-speaker of the network and aims to stimulate high-quality clinical research by involving patients, carers and other stakeholder in research (www.forschungspartnerschaft.de).
Birgit Trierweiler-Hauke
Birgit Trierweiler-Hauke, BBA, is a Registered Nurse and Deputy Head of Nursing Services at the surgical and anesthesiological department at the University Hospital Heidelberg. She is involved in designing, coordinating and running the interprofessional training ward (HIPSTA) at the University Hospital Heidelberg together with an interprofessional team.
Burkhard Götsch
Burkhard Götsch is a Registered Nurse and holds a Diploma in Nursing Education. He is the Director of the Nursing School at the University Hospital Heidelberg and is responsible for the Nursing Education Programme. A further work field is the participation in the development and coordination of the interprofessional training ward HIPSTA at the University Hospital Heidelberg.
Michel Wensing
Prof. Dr. Michel Wensing, M.Sc., is (Full) Professor at Heidelberg University for Health Services Research and Implementation Science. He is embedded in the University Hospital, Department of General Practice and Health Services Research. Furthermore, he is affiliated with Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Implementation Science. Key themes in his work are the implementation of research evidence into practice, the organisation of healthcare delivery, and its alignment with patient-relevant outcomes. A substantial part of his research focuses on general practice and primary care.
Cornelia Mahler
Prof. Dr. Cornelia Mahler M.A. RN Director Department of Nursing Science, University of Tuebingen, Germany, Programme Director - Bachelor of Nursing 2011 – 2018 Lead of Bachelor “Interprofessional Health Care”, Heidelberg, Germany. Founding member working group “Interprofessional Education” in the German Association for Medical Education (GMA).