Interweaving Teaching Strategies in Interprofessional Education: A Pilot Study with Graduate Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant Students

Abstract

The importance of interprofessional education (IPE) has been emphasized by the World Health Organization and is currently required by both the occupational therapy (OT) and physician assistant (PA) education accreditation agencies in the United States. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that IPE fosters learners' understanding of the roles different disciplines play in healthcare delivery and prepares future health professionals for patient-centered care. Authors designed and implemented an IPE event aimed to foster the following core Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies among graduate OT and PA students: Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. The specific content of this event addressed pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment for older adult clients with complex clinical presentation (with emphasis on OT-and PA-specific clinical interventions) and incorporated a discussion of a clinical case study. Team-Based Learning approach, Jigsaw technique and role-play were used as teaching strategies during this activity. Students' perceptions of IPE were measured by administering the Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education Revised (SPICE-R) survey before and after the IPE event. This project is unique, because it incorporates a novel combination of teaching strategies to augment the IPE experience.