RESUMEN
Objectives: Interprofessional education [IPE] is rapidly becoming integrated into university accreditation standards worldwide. However, the impact of IPE on student learning and practice is largely unknown in the Middle East. This report describes a semester-long IPE coursebased activity and evaluates student perceptions towards professional roles
Methods: Pharmacy and Human Nutrition students from Qatar University completed a 15-week IPE activity that required students to work in groups to complete two assignments after an introductory event. The data were collected during meetings with students and faculty about their overall experience and course assignments. Perceptions regarding professional roles were determined by a pre- and post-reflection questionnaire
Results: After completion of the assignments, fourteen students [37%] noted changed perceptions of themselves, as well as of the other healthcare profession. Twelve of fourteen [86%] noted changes regarding perceptions of the roles of the other healthcare profession, while 2/14 [14%] noted changes regarding perception of their own professional roles. Three of fourteen [21%] reported that their changed perceptions towards IPE were unfavourable. These changed perceptions largely focused on specialised roles of the respective professions
Conclusions: A semester-long IPE experience was deemed beneficial in a Middle Eastern context. Future events and research should focus on fostering collaboration and interprofessional communication to enhance student attitudes and eventual preparation for interprofessional practice
RESUMEN
Interprofessional education [IPE] engages students from different healthcare professions for learning with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care. Recognizing the complexity of designing and integrating IPE into different health curricula, this review describes twelve strategies for introducing IPE into pre-registration health professional education. We emphasize group responsibility among faculty and other stakeholders, clarity and unity of purpose expressed in outcomes informing inputs, and learning methods. This piece of work emphasizes facilitation as the key to effective interprofessional teaching and learning, with implications for the preparation of faculty and students. The supporting evidence from the literature has also shown that interprofessional student assessment and programme evaluation play key roles in the successful functioning of IPE courses