Measuring healthcare students' attitudes toward interprofessional education

Objectives: To explore students' attitudes toward interprofessional education [IPE]; to explore whether there are significant differences in the readiness of students in various healthcare professions; and to investigate whether demographic characteristics have any significant influence on their attitude and readiness

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale [RIPLS] was administered to all 2[nd]-, 3[rd]-, and 4[th]-year undergraduate students of the respiratory care, physical therapy, cardiac technology, clinical nutrition, and clinical science laboratory professional programs at the University of Dammam. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics

Results: The overall mean score of students' readiness [mean 1/4 66, SD 1/4 8.7] was higher than the average score on the RIPLS [mean 1/4 47.5]. A comparison revealed statistically significant differences between health profession groups in terms of readiness [P 1/4 .000]. The overall mean readiness score of clinical nutrition students was higher than that of other groups. There were significant positive relationships between year of study and the overall RIPLS score, the teamwork and collaboration subscale score, and the negative professional identity subscale score [r ranged from .117 to .189, P .023]

Conclusion: Overall, the study revealed a satisfactory degree of readiness and a generally positive attitude among students regarding shared learning and the value of teamwork and collaboration. The results suggested that clinical nutrition students appreciated interprofessional collaboration more than students of other health professions. Furthermore, as students advanced in their years of study, their readiness for interprofessional learning increased

Measuring the attitudes of healthcare faculty members towards interprofessional education in KSA

Objectives: Interprofessional Education [IPE], although well-understood in developed countries, is not uniformly perceived across developing countries. This study aimed to measure healthcare faculty attitudes towards IPE and to measure possible significant differences in demographic characteristics of faculty for their readiness to incorporate IPE in existing curricula

Methods: This simple-random sampling study was conducted by administering the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale [RIPLS] to 200 randomly selected faculty members of health colleges of University of Dammam [UoD] and Taibah University [TU] KSA. The survey was conducted as a paper-based survey at UoD and online at TU

Results: The average score for all items [except one item] of the RIPLS were high [mean > 3.4]. There were signifi- cant gender differences on issues related to the role of IPE in promoting students' understanding of their own professional limitations [p < 0.05] and on the need for healthcare students to learn together [p < 0.10]. There were significant differences between faculty responses from UoD and TU with regard to their perceptions of IPE's role in fostering positive thinking about other healthcare professionals [p < 0.05] and their belief in the role of trust and respect among professions for successful outcomes [p < 0.10]. Comparisons of faculty attitudes of different age groups towards IPE showed significant differences [0.000

Conclusion: This study showed favourable attitudes of healthcare faculty from both universities towards IPE. These encouraging findings might provide an impetus for potential engagement of faculty of the Saudi health colleges in the delivery of IPE when implemented