Interprofessional Training with Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Physician Assistant (PA) students using Interprofessional Education (IPE) Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)

Faculty/Staff Leader Summary

Our project consists of four Interprofessional Education (IPE) Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) offered to students in the family nurse practitioner (FNP) and physician assistant (PA) programs. These OSCEs are embedded within the didactic courses. Students are expected to complete a pre- and post- survey using the Performance Assessment Communication and Teamwork Tools Set (PACT), in addition to general evaluation and knowledge acquisition questions.

For the project, one or two students from each program work together in two IPE OSCEs over two semesters. The OSCE’s aim to help students with their patient rapport, history taking, physical exam and diagnostic reasoning, as each case is associated with a diagnosis. The students receive immediate faculty debrief and are evaluated with a grading rubric that addresses IPE competencies and provider role competencies.

This IPE project introduces the concept of interdisciplinary care and collaboration within the students’ academic program. We hope that once the students graduate and enter the workforce, they will continue to value communication and collaboration with other disciplines, and they will appreciate the value of shared decision-making between and among different professionals to improve patient outcomes.

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

IPEC Sub-Competencies Targeted
TT3: Practice team reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.
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.
C6: Use constructive feedback to connect, align, and accomplish team goals.