Effectiveness of an Interprofessional Education Event for Graduate Health Professional Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a single, optional, half-day, interprofessional education (IPE) event for a myriad of graduate-level health professional students (n=44) at a university in Illinois, USA. Methods: The researchers in this study examined students’ performance on two out of six of the domains on the Interprofessiomnal Collaborator Assessment Rubric (ICAR): Roles and Responsibilities and Communication Strategies. This study also investigated quantitative and qualitative findings related to student perceptions regarding this IPE opportunity. Results: Results indicated that students met or exceeded the minimum competency for the ranking of “developing” for all 6 of the behaviors evaluated. Results also revealed that this half-day extracurricuricular IPE event was viewed favorably by healthprofessional students and created a venue whereby students belonging to different health professional programs can enter into discussions and learn about each others’ respective roles and responsibilities in patient care. Conclusion: The creation and implementation of short term extracurricular IPE events may be a valuable alternative for healthcare programs that are unable to implement IPE activities due to some of the common barriers impacting the development, implementation, or continuation of IPE opportunities. Author Bio(s) Lisa Jean Knecht-Sabres, DHS, OTR/L is a Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program at Midwestern University. James F. Gunn, MMS, PA-C, is an Assistant Professor in the Physician Assistant Program at Midwestern University. Christine Conroy, PT, DPT, MHS, is an Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at Midwestern University. Sarah E. Getch, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Behavioral Medicine Program at Midwestern University. Susan M. Cahill, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA is an Associate Professor and the Program Director of the Occupational Therapy Program at Lewis University. Michelle M. Lee, Ph.D., ABPP, is a Professor in the Behavioral Medicine Program at Midwestern University. Mae J. Ciancio, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Biomedical Sciences Program at Midwestern University. Jayne Jaskolski, Ph.D., CCCSLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Speech Language Pathology Program at Aurora University. Lisa Palmisano, Pharm. D., is an Assistant Professor in the Pharmacology Program at Midwestern University. Kolbrun Kristjansdottir, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Sciences Program at Midwestern University. Authors Lisa J. Knecht-Sabres, James F. Gunn, Christine Conroy, Sarah E. Getch, Susan M. Cahill, Michelle M. Lee, Mae J. Ciancio, Jayne Jaskolski, Lisa Palmisano, and Kolbrun Kristjansdottir This manuscript is available in Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol14/iss4/2 © The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 2016 Dedicated to allied health professional practice and education Vol. 14 No. 4 ISSN 1540-580X Effectiveness of an Interprofessional Education Event for Graduate Health Professional Students Lisa J. Knecht-Sabres, DHS, OTR/L1 James F. Gunn, MMS, PA-C1 Christine Conroy, PT, DPT, FNAP1 Sarah E. Getch, Ph.D1 Susan M. Cahill, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA2 Michelle M. Lee, Ph.D., ABPP1 Mae J. Ciancio, Ph.D1 Jayne Jaskolski, Ph.D., CCCSLP3 Lisa Palmisano, Pharm. D, BCACP1 Kolbrun Kristjansdottir, Ph.D1 1. Midwestern University 2. Lewis University 3. Aurora University