Interprofessional Education at a Distance: The Hybrid Interprofessional Education Model

ABSTRACT

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is a critical component of health professions education but planning and implementation are challenged by logistical, physical, personnel, and recently global pandemic COVID-19 barriers. Purpose: This report describes the development and design of the proposed Hybrid Interprofessional Education (HIPE) model, a blended learning IPE model developed to mitigate barriers using a flexible framework and online collaborative technologies to deliver experiences based on Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies. Operational principles, model design, an example of model implementation, and outcomes are reported. Method: Fifty-four student physical therapists and physician assistants attending remote campuses of the same university participated and completed an exit survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated for Likert scale and semantic differential scale survey items and thematic analysis was conducted for open question responses. Results: Analysis revealed students felt improved understanding of interprofessional practice, the other profession's role, teamwork, and communication. Responses supported online, asynchronous delivery and the web application used but not the synchronous activity portion. Three themes arose from comments: learning with and from, interactions, and activity design. Conclusion: The HIPE model was used to deliver IPE that supported perceptions of student learning in IPEC core competencies when physical proximity was not possible. Further iterative research and model refinement are needed. Future research should include investigation of student learning outcomes when using the HIPE model.