The Professional Curricula Time Crunch: Options for Changing Student Understanding and Perceptions of Interprofessional Learning and Collaboration

The Professional Curricula Time Crunch: Options for Changing Student Understanding and Perceptions of Interprofessional Learning and Collaboration

Purpose: The purpose of this seminar is to describe and discuss the effectiveness of an educational module designed to incorporate opportunities for interprofessional learning (IPL) and collaboration into the professional curricula of 4 disciplines. The seminar will invite participants to share their experiences with redefining education to include opportunities for IPL when limited time and resources are available.

Background: Working effectively on interprofessional healthcare teams requires prior preparation. Academic institutions can play a key role in this process by creating opportunities for IPL and collaboration prior to graduation. An increasing number of schools are looking for ways to incorporate IPL opportunities into professional curricula but are faced with the challenge of finding the time to embed the necessary learning experiences.

Program Description: WidenerUniversity’sSchool ofHuman Service Professions created a 6 hour IPL curriculum designed to prepare pre-professional graduate students for practice on interprofessional teams.

Results - Over the course of 14 years, approximately 1500 students have participated in the IPL curriculum developed. Programmatic assessment using quantitative and qualitative data, which will be shared as part of the seminar, have revealed positive changes in student attitudes toward IPL and collaboration

Conclusion: Given the challenges associated with getting professional disciplines together to learn with, from and about each other, a 6 hour learning experience, if well structured, can positively affect attitudes and beliefs that are thought to be important to working effectively on interprofessional teams.

Relevance: The approach presented is a model for curricular design and assessment that can provide guidance for institution seeking to incorporate sustainable IPL opportunities into graduate professional curricula.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this seminar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify common challenges faced by academic institutions seeking to create curricula that can foster IPL and collaboration.
2. Discuss and appraise options for addressing perceived barriers to creating IPL opportunities that prepare students to learn with and from each other and to function effectively on healthcare/human service teams.
3. Identify the reasons for incorporating assessment into curricular design as a way to determine programmatic effectiveness and assist process improvement.