Impact of an Interprofessional Education Activity on Student Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Patient Safety

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the impact of an interprofessional education (IPE) activity on student knowledge and attitudes regarding patient safety. Two 4 h IPE activities were designed to provide students with foundational information regarding patient safety. Interprofessional teams discussed the individual curricula and roles/responsibilities of each represented health profession. Teams then served on a mock committee tasked with completing a root cause analysis of a fictitious sentinel event. Students completed a pre/post-quiz and pre/post-attitudes survey to measure knowledge and attitudes. Five months later, students reconvened to serve on a second mock sentinel event committee. Students completed a post-activity survey after the second activity. Four hundred and seven students participated in the first activity, while two hundred and eighty participated in the second activity. Quiz score comparisons revealed improved knowledge, with post-quiz scores being significantly higher. Pre- and post-attitude survey comparisons indicated a significant improvement in participant attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork. Seventy-eight percent of students reported the IPE activity enhanced their ability to “engage other health professions students in shared patient-centered care”. This IPE activity resulted in knowledge and attitude improvement related to patient safety.

Background and Foreground: Connections & Distinctions when Health Professions Faculty Teach Both Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Quality Improvement – A Case Study

“…On the other hand, there are social and behavioral sciences underpinning the field of ICP that are often oversimplified or even ignored in QI education literature. 17,[36][37][38] For example, one cannot assure effective collaboration simply by making groups working on quality improvement projects multiprofessional; c instead attention must be paid to the principles of group dynamics and issues of professional culture and power. [40][41][42][43][44][45] While there are advantages to maintaining a separation between the fields of QI education and ICP education, including academic recognition tied to visibility and consistency of identity, such separation can generate confusion and difficulties for academic and clinical educators working on curricular change.…”