Effects of a Virtual Interprofessional Education Intervention on Health Professions Learners Enrolled in Post-Graduate Education Programs

Research Objectives To investigate the effects of a virtual, post-graduate, interprofessional education (IPE) intervention on attitudes towards healthcare teams (ATHCT) and collaborative practice competencies in health professions learners. Design Before-after trial of a yearlong post-professional IPE intervention. Setting All sessions occurred online using a virtual video-conferencing platform. Participants Family medicine residents, physical therapy residents, occupational therapy fellows-in-training, and nutrition interns from 3 participating institutions completed the intervention as a part of their respective programs. All participants provided informed consent for their data to be used for research. Interventions Groups of 8-12 learners participated in 5 web-based sessions focused on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies of communication and role understanding. The initial session was a general discussion about learner's perspectives and prior experiences interacting with members of other healthcare professionals. Three subsequent sessions included 10 minutes of education on either communication strategies or professional roles, and 45 minutes of discussion surrounding a virtual patient case. The final session focused on a synthesis of the information learned throughout the previous sessions. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcome measures were the Team Value and Team Efficacy subscales of the Attitudes towards Healthcare Teams (ATHCT) Questionnaire and a survey instrument used in prior research to assess confidence in performing activities associated with the IPEC competencies. Results There was not a significant (p > 0.05) difference in before and after scores on the two ACHCT subscales. There was a significant (p Conclusions Results indicate that a virtual IPE intervention can positively affect residents', fellows', and interns' confidence in their ability to perform on IPEC competencies but may not affect their attitudes towards healthcare teams. Further research is need to understand if the use of virtual platforms to collaborate on actual patient cases improves attitudes and increases collaborative practice behaviors. Author(s) Disclosures The authors are faculty in the educational programs included in this study. There are no financial disclosures.