Transformation of an Online Multidisciplinary Course into a Live Interprofessional Experience.

Objective. To design, implement, and assess an interprofessional education (IPE) course in the first professional year of students enrolled in eight different health professions programs. Design. An interprofessional faculty committee created a 1-credit hour required IPE course to not only teach students about the roles and responsibilities of each discipline and how they may contribute to an interprofessional team, but to also improve collaboration and team-based communication skills among health care professions students. Students were placed in interprofessional groups and met weekly to participate in didactic lectures, discussion sessions, and a standardized patient encounter. Assessment. Seven hundred and eighty-three health professions students were enrolled in the course, of which 130 students completed questionnaires at all three time points. Students were neutral about the course and found it moderately valuable (Mean 6.23 [on a scale from 1 to 10], interesting (Mean 5.61), and enjoyable (Mean 5.57). Written feedback from the course indicated that the majority of students enjoyed the standardized patient encounter and thought the course provided a valuable opportunity to interact with other students in other health professions programs. Conclusion. This required course served as an introductory interprofessional approach in preparing health professions students to learn from each other about their various roles and responsibilities and how each can contribute to the health care team.

Teaching dental students about patient communication following an adverse event: a pilot educational module.

Adverse events are an important but understudied area in dentistry. Most dentists will face the issue of an adverse event several times in their clinical careers. The authors implemented a six-hour pilot educational module at one dental school to improve fourth-year dental students' knowledge and confidence in communicating with patients about adverse events. Based on results from the twenty-nine students who completed both the pre- and posttests, the module significantly increased the students' knowledge of the key concepts involved in adverse events. However, the module did not improve the students' confidence that they would be able to implement these communication skills in clinical situations. Based on these results, this article discusses how future educational efforts can be modified to better prepare students for the communication challenges associated with adverse events.