A Case-Based, Brief, Intensive Interprofessional Education Experience for School Practitioners

J Allied Health. 2020 Spring;49(1):e43-e50.

Abstract

Professionals from healthcare and education frequently work together to serve clients in public schools. We devised an interprofessional activity including students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, social work, and education in which students designed an interprofessional intervention program for a school child with complex needs. Allied health students who expressed interest in pediatric practice were recruited to participate. Students filled out the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), a Likert-scale measure of perceptions about related disciplines, before and after the experience. Quantitative analysis of responses on the IEPS showed a significant improvement in interdisciplinary perceptions after the experience as evidenced by higher IEPS scores. Qualitative analysis using a narrative thematic description of reflections on the experience confirmed this finding. These findings suggest a brief, intensive preservice interprofessional experience can have a positive effect on students' interprofessional attitudes, and points toward aspects of these experiences, including student-led discussions and small group conversations, that students find especially appealing.

MeSH terms

  • Allied Health Occupations / education*
  • Child
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Disabled Children
  • Humans
  • Interdisciplinary Communication*
  • Interprofessional Relations*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Program Development
  • Qualitative Research
  • Schools*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires