Building the foundation for culture change through the design, implementation, and assessment of an interprofessional education intervention

Abstract

Introduction: The current state of our nation’s healthcare delivery system, including inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, health disparities, and wasteful costs, accentuates the call for responsive action. Interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) has emerged as an innovative strategy for addressing many of these inadequacies through the restructuring of healthcare delivery systems and health professions education within the United States. This project was a five-week long course in a clinic setting on interprofessional education (IPE) that supplied basic knowledge of the field of IPECP and offered opportunities to apply knowledge gained in an interprofessional, collaborative manner. The project question was: Will learners exhibit a measurable change in attitudes underpinning a clinic-based culture after exposure to an IPE intervention aimed at guiding and shaping collaborative practice?
Methods: This was a systems change project that implemented and assessed a pilot IPECP program. The IPE intervention consisted of a course comprised of two face-to-face sessions and five online modules for 15 pre- and post-licensure learners. Objectives were defined, and mixed methods were used for measurement and assessment, including a pre- and post- test design.
Results: Pre-licensure learners showed high levels of engagement in the learning activities; post-licensure learners failed to meet online engagement objectives. All course learners demonstrated a shift in readiness to engage in IPECP. Quantitative findings were consistent with the qualitative data generated.
Discussion: Findings suggested the beginnings of a shift in attitudes underpinning organizational culture. Findings also revealed barriers to IP learning and practice, including participant attitudes related to professional identity, assumptions about teamwork, and notions about hierarchy.