ABSTRACT
The Northeastern/Central Pennsylvania Interprofessional Education Coalition (NECPA IPEC) is a coalition of faculty from multiple smaller academic institutions with a mission to promote interprofessional education. An interprofessional learning program was organized, which involved 676 learners from 10 different institutions representing 16 unique professions, and took place at seven different institutions simultaneously. The program was a 3-hour long summit which focused on the management of a patient with ischemic stroke. A questionnaire consisting of the Interprofessional Education Perception Scale (IEPS) questionnaire (pre-post summit), Likert-type questions, and open comment questions explored the learners' perceptions of the session and their attitudes toward interprofessional learning. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and statistical tests for difference and qualitative thematic coding. The attitude of learners toward interprofessional education (as measured by the IEPS) was quite high even prior to the summit, so there were no significant changes after the summit. However, a high percentage of learners and facilitators agreed that the summit met its objective and was effective. In addition, the thematic analysis of the open-ended questions confirmed that students learned from the experience with a sense of the core competencies of interprofessional education and practice. A collaborative approach to delivering interprofessional learning is time and work intensive but beneficial to learners.
Subject(s)
Cooperative Behavior , Education, Professional , Interdisciplinary Communication , Interprofessional Relations , Patient Care Team/organization & administration , Program Development , Students, Health Occupations/psychology , Attitude of Health Personnel , Female , Humans , Male , Pennsylvania , Surveys and Questionnaires , TeachingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Engaging communities in authentic partnerships is increasingly accepted as best practice in both medicine and public health, despite the many barriers to doing so. New medical schools have an opportunity to incorporate community engagement into their very foundation. In rural northeast Pennsylvania, a new medical school used a regional health assessment to engage community partners across the 16 counties it serves. METHODS: A community health advisory board guided the development and implementation of a key informant focus group methodology. Twenty-three focus groups were held. Themes were generated using content analysis involving 21 observers along with the principal investigators. RESULTS: A total of 221 representatives of 195 agencies from across the region participated. Twelve themes relating to needs were discussed in more than 75% of focus groups. The findings revealed barriers to improving health in the region, including lack of access to preventive services, to primary care and specialty providers, and to basic mental health services. Consistent themes related to strengths and expectations for the new medical school also emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Holding focus groups across the region allowed community service providers to connect to a new medical school, despite distances in the rural region. Partnerships with community agencies and providers are evolving. Findings from the study regarding needs and strengths in rural communities have been incorporated into the school's curriculum and research agenda. Dissemination efforts have focused on communicating findings to community partners in formats and venues that are useful for them.
