Successful Interprofessional Education Doesn’t Require Team Activities
Authors: Thakur Sonali , Herriott Hannah L. , McNulty Margaret A. , Byram Jessica N. 
Published: May 2022

Introduction

Embedding interprofessional education (IPE) into healthcare professions curricula through team‐ and case‐based learning (CBL) allows students to learn the roles of future professions with whom they will one day be working. Teamwork through case studies prompts a collaborative atmosphere between students, which is illustrative of their professional environment. However, previous work has found that translation of these activities to an online format during the COVID pandemic resulted in communication issues that negated positive benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of individually‐completed CBL assignments on correct understanding of roles of healthcare professionals (physician assistants, PA; physical therapists, PT; occupational therapists, OT).

Methods

In this IRB‐approved study, PA, PT, and OT students enrolled in a gross anatomy course were asked to complete a pre/post‐test survey on professional role at the start and end of the semester. The survey asked participants to correctly identify whether patients in various scenarios should be referred to a PA, PT, or OT, in addition to free responses summarizing the roles of these professions. Throughout the semester, students completed 12 asynchronous CBL assignments reviewing anatomical case scenarios with an interprofessional focus. Each CBL had a clinical vignette with associated questions, the final asking which profession would take the most prominent role in the patient's care and why. Students were able to review pre‐recorded answer videos following completion of the assignments. Pre/post‐tests were compared using Wilcoxon Signed Rank and Kruskal‐Wallis tests while free responses from the survey and CBLs were analyzed using the framework method of thematic analysis.

Results

Thirty students (24%) completed both surveys and were evenly distributed across programs. There was a significant improvement in students’ abilities to correctly assign patients to each profession (p=0.001) and there were no differences in role classification across programs. Thematic analysis of survey role descriptions and free responses from the CBLs demonstrated students’ improved role comprehension of PA, PT, and OTs. Common misconceptions students held included: PAs must be supervised by a physician and are therefore limited in their autonomy, patients with compromised lower extremity function (gait, balance) were to be treated by a PT, and those with upper extremity disfunction were to be treated by an OT. The number of misconceptions from CBL assignments diminished as the course was taught, signifying refinement in students’ perceptions of these three professional roles.

Conclusion

Overall, students improved in their understanding of role and responsibilities of PAs, PTs, and OTs throughout the duration of the gross anatomy course. Asynchronous CBL assignments appear to be an effective method to engage students with clinical roles from an anatomical perspective, promoting role comprehension and accuracy of descriptions.

Significance

This study demonstrates that individually‐completed IPE activities are successful in educating students in the roles of allied health professionals in the context of patient care.