RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) is an experience that occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to improve the quality of health services. One of the IPE teaching strategies is to use an online approach. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community needs effective health education to prevent disease transmission. This study aims to assess the attitudinal changes toward IPE among health students in Indonesia after attending an online course during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used a mixed-method study design with a concurrent approach. It was conducted in 2021 at a health profession education school of a University in Indonesia. An online project-based interprofessional learning in family health education was conducted. The quantitative analysis was carried out using pre- and post-tests with The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) survey. Meanwhile, the qualitative methods used the phenomenological approach to Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and student reflective essays. The qualitative data were coded using thematic content analysis. The paired samples t-test was used if the data were normally distributed, or the Wilcoxon test if the data had abnormal distribution. RESULTS: The students' attitudes regarding team and collaboration; professional identity; roles and responsibility improved significantly from pre- to post-test (<0.001). The participants perceived that all four interprofessional core competencies were achieved in their learning. They also mentioned their experiences regarding factors contributing to the success of the online course. The family health education project gave the participants more insight into professionalism and patient-centered care. CONCLUSIONS: Online IPE courses can increase student readiness in collaborative practice and support students' learning to achieve interprofessional core competencies. The students feel the benefit of family health education for their profession.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: The development of students' clinical reasoning skills should be a consideration in the design of instruction and evaluation in medical education. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, several changes in the medical curriculum have been implemented in promoting clinical reasoning. This study aims to explore medical students' perceptions and experiences with the clinical reasoning curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine their skills development. METHODS: The study used a mixed-method design with a concurrent approach. A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare and examine the relationship between the outcomes of the structured oral examination (SOE) and the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI). Then, the qualitative method was used. A focus group discussion using a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was conducted, then the verbatim transcript was subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS: There is an increase in SOE and DTI scores between second-year to fourth-year students. The diagnostic thinking domains and SOE are significantly correlated (r=0.302, 0.313, and 0.241 with p<0.05). The three primary themes from the qualitative analysis are perceptions regarding clinical reasoning, clinical reasoning activities, and the learning component. CONCLUSION: Even if students are still studying throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, their clinical reasoning skills can improve. The clinical reasoning and diagnostic thinking skills of medical students increase as the length of the school year increases. Online case-based learning and assessment support the development of clinical reasoning skills. The skills are supported in their development by positive attitudes toward faculty, peers, case type, and prior knowledge.
