Assessing Interprofessional Learning during a Student Placement in an Interprofessional Rehabilitation University Clinic in Primary Healthcare in a Canadian Francophone Minority Context

Abstract

Background: Interprofessional collaboration is deemed the key to quality patient care and the future for healthcare delivery models. Such a complex competency needs to be learned; as such, interprofessional education should be a key component of health professional programs. An Interprofessional Rehabilitation University Clinic was created to promote interprofessional education at the pre-licensure level. However, few resources are currently available to assess interprofessional learning; no tool (English or French) that specifically assesses interprofessional learning could be identified.
Methods and Findings: A self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess interprofessional learning during a clinical placement. Using a single-group posttest-only design, this descriptive pilot project reports the results obtained with this tool for the first 15 students on placement at the Clinic. Preliminary findings suggest this tool helped demonstrate that, during placements in an interprofessional clinic, students developed some understanding of their own profession as well as of other professions. Responses showed that participants believe that interprofessional interventions are more efficient, save time, and facilitate sharing of information leading to a better comprehension of the clients’ situations. The tool suggests that students feel that an interprofessional educational experience is beneficial for clients and for themselves.
Conclusions: Assessing interprofessional learning is challenging. Although the tool developed during this project is most promising, further research is warranted to increase its usefulness in assessing interprofessional learning.