Development of an educational program for interprofessional collaboration

Abstract

We developed an educational program that encourages students from three departments −namely, Medical Technology, Radiology Science, and Physical Therapy− to learn collaboratively by working on a clinical case. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this program was useful as an interprofessional education (IPE) program for physical therapy undergraduate students. [Participants and Methods] One hundred and seventeen third-grade undergraduates enrolled in an undergraduate program, named "Biophysical Diagnosis Workshop". We prepared tasks based on four clinical scenarios, whereby participants had to assess a patient's biodata and clinical information to derive a diagnosis and then develop a treatment plan. The students had to confer with each other, exchange perspectives regarding their respective disciplines, and coordinate their opinions. After the workshop, we administered a questionnaire to 43 physical therapy students, seeking their subjective opinions about the usefulness of the workshop and their levels of satisfaction with the workshop. [Results] Out of the physical therapy students that responded, 97.7% answered either "yes" or "yes, to some extent" when asked whether the workshop increased their interest in other medical professions, and 97.7% reported feeling either "satisfied" or "satisfied, to some extent" by the workshop. [Conclusion] The program positively affects physical therapy students, and potentially improves their expertise in and understanding of interprofessional collaboration.