"We're performing improvisational jazz": Interprofessional pediatric palliative care fellowship prepares trainees for team-based collaborative practice.

Abstract Context Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares clinicians for collaborative practice, yet little is known about the effectiveness of postgraduate IPE. Objectives This is the first study to describe educational outcomes of an interprofessional fellowship in pediatric palliative care. Objectives were to understand the experiences of postgraduate trainees in an interprofessional, clinical environment and to evaluate program effect on interprofessional competencies. Methods In this mixed-methodology study, we surveyed former fellows from 2002 to 2018 about their fellowship experience and perceived change in interprofessional skills. We performed qualitative semantic content analysis of fellows’ responses about learning in an interprofessional context. We compared fellows’ self-rated ability (5-point Likert scale), before and after fellowship, in 10 interprofessional competencies selected from the Interprofessional Education Collaborative's core competencies. Results Response rate was 87% (41/47). 51% of respondents were physicians, 29% were social workers, and 20% were nurse practitioners. Respondents reported significant improvement in all 10 competencies, with summed mean scores of 2.8±0.6 pre-fellowship (“not very well prepared”) and 4.4±0.4 post-fellowship (“very well” to “extremely well prepared”) (t =15.6, p Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of an interprofessional postgraduate fellowship in preparing clinicians for collaborative practice.