Interprofessional Clinical Education Partnerships in Medically Underserved Areas
Purpose/Hypothesis: The is a strong trend toward incorporation of interprofessional education (IPE) experience within academic physical therapy. The purpose of this project was to implement innovative strategies promoting interprofessional clinical experiences through the development clinical sites in Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and to place interprofessional teams of students at these sites for collaborative clinical experiences.
Number of Subjects: 28 students in 5 programs (Physical Therapy, Laboratory Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, and Respiratory Care) who participated in interdisciplinary teams.
Materials and Methods: An interprofessional team of Directors of Clinical Education (DCEs) and the principle investigator carried out the project by developing sites, providing workshops and mentoring for clinicians, participating in recruitment and retention activities, and guiding students through campus and clinical interprofessional learning activities. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale Questionnaire were administered before and after student’s first clinical experience.
Results: 118 new clinical sites and 18 existing clinical sites in medically undeserved areas entered agreements to participate in interprofessional clinical education and 7 interdisciplinary student team placements occurred. Participating students reported marked improvement in their readiness for interprofessional learning compared to their peers who were not part of the project.
Conclusions: A multidisciplinary approach to interprofessional clinical education is feasible and appears to positively increase student’s perceptions of interprofessional clinical experiences and learning.
Clinical Relevance: Providing IPE clinical experiences in medically undeserved areas for multidisciplinary teams increases students receptiveness to team based learning.