Interprofessional Education Week: the impact of active and passive learning activities on students' perceptions of interprofessional education.

Healthcare professions faculty at a private Midwestern university designed an Interprofessional Education (IPE) Week, consisting of 12 different interprofessional learning activities over the span of one week. The purpose of the study was to determine students' perceptions toward interprofessional healthcare, as measured by the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R), one week before and one week after the events to determine if the type of learning activity - more passive, didactic-type events or active learning events - impacted outcomes. Of the over 400 students representing predominantly athletic training, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy programs who attended IPE Week, a total of 190 health professions students completed the pre- and post-IPE Week SPICE-R. Students who attended an active learning activity had a statistically significant increase in all three factors of the tool (interprofessional teamwork and team-based practice, roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice, and patient outcomes from collaborative practice) while students who attended more passive didactic type events only showed a statistically significant increase in roles/responsibilities and patient outcomes. This study demonstrates the utility of an IPE Week on student perceptions and highlights the potential importance of active interprofessional learning offerings.

Interprofessional Healthcare Students' Perceptions of a Simulation-Based Learning Experience.

Academic healthcare programs are incorporating interprofessional education (IPE) into students' learning experiences in order to prepare students for optimal clinical practice. This paper describes a simulation-based learning experience (SBLE) designed to encourage students (n = 130) from six healthcare professions to learn more about interprofessional communication, roles and responsibilities of the healthcare team, and knowledge of interprofessional collaborative practice. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences in participants' perceptions of roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice (p = 0.001) and the patient outcomes from collaborative practice (p = 0.002). Additionally, participants identified the importance of holistic, patient-centered care, a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of healthcare team members, and a greater desire to participate in IPE activities. Utilizing SBLE with students in athletic training, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, and psychology led to positive perceptions of IPE and collaborative practice.