Interprofessional Learning in the Workplace: A Mixed Method Approach in Physical Therapy Clinical Education
Thomas, Shelene
Introduction: Clinical education is a critical component of professional preparation and education for student physical therapists (Mostrom, 2013). Despite a consensus to value clinical education as a significant portion of the DPT degree as demonstrated by increasing time in the workplace, there is ambiguity as to what skills advance over the increased time and to what level. Outcome assessment in obtainment of interprofessional skill during the clinical education portion of the DPT degree are poorly understood. Purpose: The purpose of this mixed method, sequential pre-experimental study was to explore interprofessional learning in the workplace during long-term internships by evaluating physical therapy students in their interprofessional skills quantitatively and then augmenting these assessments through qualitative interviews. Methods: Assessment of physical therapy students’ interprofessional competencies during terminal internships occurred six weeks prior to completion of the terminal internship via an online version of the Interprofessional Collaboration Assessment Rubric (ICAR). Interviews then augmented quantitative data through open ended discussions of interprofessional learning in the clinic, the relationships in the practice community, and strategies for learner engagement. Results: Communication, modeling, informal relationships and patientcentered practice were the leading strategies used to obtain interprofessional skill in the clinic. Protecting the student from the interaction with others omitted the opportunity to learn. Learner engagement was consistently classified as high in the clinic as knowledge and mentoring relationships between the CI and student were valuable in setting expectations for interprofessional learning. |Keywords: Interprofessional education, teaching strategies, mixed method