Implementation of a Cultural Competency Learning Module Within an Interprofessional Clinical Experience

Abstract

The integration of interprofessional collaborative practice with culturally competent practice has the potential to enhance positive outcomes, expand service delivery options, and address systematic racism in applied practice settings (Cahn, 2020; Oelke, Thurston, & Arthur, 2013). However, frameworks for interprofessional collaboration often ignore its intersection with cultural competency and remain untested in applied settings. For school psychologists, collaboration with colleagues is crucial to delivering student and systems-level services. Likewise, school psychologists must be cognizant of cultural and individual differences among colleagues to promote socially just practices. This study examined the effects of a brief online course on cultural competency embedded within a larger interprofessional collaborative training experience on student perceptions of their knowledge and attitudes towards working with other professionals with diverse experiences. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used to compare the mean differences in student cultural competency and interprofessional collaboration attitudes, perceived knowledge, and content knowledge before and after completing the brief online course. Participants included students from a medium-sized midwestern university enrolled in a clinical practicum course through an on-campus training clinic for the 2021-2022 academic year. Students participated in a 2-hour online training that includes readings, informational videos, and reflections on the intersection between cultural competency and interprofessional collaborative practice. Results indicated that pre-service professionals perceived themselves as more knowledgeable regarding terminology related to interprofessional collaboration after participation. Differences in clinician attitudes and beliefs regarding interprofessional collaboration were inconclusive. Implications from the study are discussed in terms of how this course can be improved to train future pre-service professionals on the intersection between interprofessional collaboration and cultural competency.