Destination Collaboration: Do Students Increase Their Knowledge of Others Following an Interprofessional Learning Experience?

Abstract

Collaboration among professionals of different backgrounds is required in several medical and social service fields. However, there is limited research about how to train undergraduate and graduate students in collaboration skills. The most commonly cited precursor to effective collaborative skills is the knowledge of one's own and others roles within a team. The aim of this study was to analyze the increase in knowledge of own and others disciplines for students who engaged in an interprofessional learning (IPL) opportunity at a university-based psychoeducational assessment clinic. Survey responses (both quantitative and open-ended) were completed before and after a semester of involvement in the clinic and specific questions pertaining to increases in knowledge were analyzed. The study revealed benefits to students in their knowledge of professions represented in the clinic as a result of even a short immersion in the clinical experience. Similar interprofessional training opportunities for pre-licensure education programs appears worthwhile. This research expounds on the literature on interprofessional education (IPE) that has primarily taken place with medical students.