Improving interprofessional competencies and anatomy education of health profession students in a virtual platform

Faculty/Staff Leader

Rekha Kar

Rekha Kar, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy, Long School of Medicine

Additional Contributors
Alan Sakaguchi, PhD, Professor, Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy, Long School of Medicine; Craig Sisson, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Long School of Medicine; Roland Paquette, MPAS, PA-C, Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Health Professions; Kimatha Grice, OTD, OTR, CHT, Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions

LINC Seed Grant Program
This IPE activity was supported by funding through the LINC Seed Grant Program in 2020.

Summary

Select cohorts of MED, OT, and PA students were recruited to form student IPE healthcare teams after receiving IRB approval for this study. Student volunteers participated in this study over Zoom sessions due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 pandemic which limited in-person sessions. All student volunteers completed pre-training and post-training assessments to measure the effectiveness of the didactic aspects of training and attainment of IPE competencies. Student IPE teams were assigned to work on a clinical scenario and were encouraged to take advantage of each team member’s professional expertise, training, and knowledge to determine a likely diagnosis and possible clinical treatments for the hypothetical patient.

Results obtained from the pre- and post-surveys collected indicate that student perceptions improved significantly in 10 of the 26 survey questions. Students’ perceptions significantly improved regarding their role within an interprofessional team (p=.003), regarding reduction in healthcare costs when patients/clients are treated by an interprofessional team (p= 0.01) and demonstration of high standards of ethical conduct in their contribution to team-based care (p=0.03). Students understanding of their responsibilities and expertise of other health professions students significantly increased with a pvalue of 0.02 and student also felt that they were able to choose communication tools and techniques that facilitated effective team interactions (p= .001).

Furthermore, these virtual sessions significantly increased students perceived ability to engage other health professionals to constructively manage disagreements about patient care and improved their ability to inform care decisions by integrating the knowledge and experience of other professions.

IPEC Competency Domain(s)
Roles & Responsibilities
Teams & Teamwork

IPEC Sub-Competencies Targeted
TT3: Practice team reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.
TT5: Apply interprofessional conflict management methods, including identifying conflict cause and addressing divergent perspectives.
RR1: Include the full scope of knowledge, skills, and attitudes of team members to provide care that is person-centered, safe, cost-effective, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
RR3: Incorporate complementary expertise to meet health needs including the determinants of health.

IPE Activity Details

First Year Offered: 2020

Last Year Offered: 2020

Type:
Co-Curricular

Sub-Type:
Classroom

Types of Learners:
Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Master of Physician Assistant Studies

Peer-Reviewed Presentation(s)

National Poster Presentations

Parker M*, Sakaguchi A, Sisson C, Grice K, Paquette R, Kar R. Improving interprofessional competencies and anatomy education of health profession students in a virtual platform. Experimental Biology, Experimental Biology 2021, April 2021.

Parker M*, Sakaguchi A, Sisson C, Grice K, Paquette R, Kar R. A virtual interprofessional education model to strengthen basic anatomy instruction. National Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education, 2021 Nexus Summit, October 2021.