An examination of students’ perceptions of their interprofessional placements in residential aged care

Abstract

It is essential that health professionals are trained to provide optimal care for our ageing population. Key to this is a positive attitude to older adults along with the ability to work in teams and provide interprofessional care. There is limited evidence on the impact an interprofessional education (IPE) placement in a residential aged care facility (RACF) has on students. In 2015 in Western Australia, 51 students (30% male, median age 23 years), from seven professions, undertook a placement between 2 and 13 weeks in length at 1 RACF. Pre-and post-placement measurements of attitudes to the elderly were collected using the Ageing Semantic Differential (ASD) questionnaire and level of readiness for interprofessional learning with the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). A total of 47 students completed matched ASD and RIPLS surveys. The mean total score on the ASD survey decreased significantly from pre-to post-placement from 116.0 to 108.9 (p = 0.033), indicating attitudes became increasingly positive towards older adults. Significant differences post-placement were seen indicating better readiness for interprofessional learning, for two out of four subscales on the RIPLS, namely "teamwork & collaboration" (42.1-44.0; (p = 0.000)) and "positive professional identity" (18.2-19.3 (p = 0.001)). The degree of change is similar to findings from other settings. The results support IPEfocussed student placements within RACF positively influence student's attitudes towards the older adult as well as increase student's readiness for interprofessional learning, confirming RACF are valuable places for training health professionals. ARTICLE HISTORY

Medical student attitudes towards older people: a critical review of quantitative measures

“…Turkey Modified UCLA-GAS Doctors had more positive attitudes than students. Seaman et al (2017) [ 31 ] Pre and post- test study: 51 volunteer health professional students, including a small number of medical students. Intervention-Inter-professional team work in an aged care facility.…”

Understanding Australian medical student attitudes towards older people

“…A very recently published study of Australian medical student attitudes investigated student perceptions of IPL in an aged care facility placement of between two‐ and 13‐weeks duration . In this study, 51 students studying in three West Australian tertiary institutions across seven health professions, including medicine, had pre‐ and postplacement measurement of their attitudes towards older people, using the Ageing Semantic Differential (ASD).…”

“…Encouragingly, baseline medical student attitudes were found to range from neutral to positive . Also, attitudes were more positive after a curriculum intervention . However, our current understanding of the attitudes of Australian medical students towards older people is incomplete and potentially flawed, as it is based on two quantitative instruments developed for use in the United States , without adequate local validation studies, and on qualitative evidence.…”

“…A recent study, again from Western Australia, measured the effect of aged care facility placements on health professional student attitudes towards older people with the ASD instrument . The authors admit that the validity of using the ASD in their study is unknown.…”

European Interprofessional Education Network Conference, Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Bridging education and practice

“…The short report centres on three concerns: the lack of an explicit framework, challenges in the operationalisation and the lack of critical mass in terms of human resources. Seaman et al (2017) studied the effects of an IPE-focused student placement on students' attitudes to older adults and readiness for interprofessional learning. Pre-and postplacement measurement of attitudes to older adults were collected using the Ageing Sematic Differential questionnaire, and level of readiness for interprofessional learning with the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale.…”