• Educating Professionals • Creating and Applying Knowledge • Engaging our Communities

Dr Barbara ParkerTrenna Albrecht, Jane Coffee, Sue Gilbert-Hunt, Dr

Sara Jones, Dr Geoff March, Dr Carmel Nottle, Denise Ogilvie, Josephine To, Dr Julie Walters

Educational strategies for enhancing IPL: Learning together, changing

together

Teamwork improves

patient outcomes & work environments

of health care providers

(Way et al. 2003, Learning and Teaching for Interprofessional Practice Australia, 2009, Mann et al. 2010, Schroder et al. 2010)

Teamwork aligned attitudes Post-op sepsis rates Sexton (2006)

IPL communication tool LOS in ICU 50% Pronovost (2003)

Teamwork system clinical error rate (30.9% to 4.4%) 27% in nurse turnover Morey (2002), DiMeglio (2005)

What does this mean for UG Health students?

• Health disciplines: practical experience is critical

• Often discipline specific practice

• Rethink models of best practice: shortage of clinical training places, complexity of contemporary practice and workforce constraints, accreditation reqs

• Simply merging healthcare professions from different backgrounds into a team does not guarantee that they will have the knowledge, skills or attitude necessary to work collaboratively to enhance patient care

(Miller et al. 1999)• Given the multifaceted nature of IPL, need to further understand the processes

of learning and change which occur (Mann et al. 2010; Schroder et al. 2012)

Division of Health SciencesProfile

• Over 7,000 students • Occupational therapy, physiotherapy,

medical radiation, podiatry, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, dietetics, exercise physiology,

• 3,500 nursing & midwifery students

•State of the art on campus facilitiesPBL simulated environment:• Health service spans 3 levels • Units: ED, critical care/surgical, medical,

palliative care, paediatric, antenatal/birthing unit/post natal, home/nurse practice clinic

• Briefing/practice rooms, clean and dirty areas

• Staffed by senior practicing nurses & midwives

Method

Week Pre session Post session

1

Introduction to study and staff, orientation to PBLs & mannequin

Discussion re knowledge of IPL & role of other health professionals

Review of case

Debrief

Reflection on IPL and teamwork

Reflection on own role in patient care

2

Review of Week 1

Review of excerpts of Week 1 video

Plan for working as a team

Debrief

Reflection on IPL and teamwork

Reflection on own role in patient care

Session structure

Week Pre session Post session

3

Review of Week 2

Review of excerpts of Week 2 video

Plan for working as a team

Debrief

Reflection on IPL and teamwork

Reflection on own role in patient care

Discussion re knowledge of IPL & role of other health professionals

Feedback on pilot study

Session structure

Standardised patient

During the data collection sessions, the simulated patient:•acted out the scenario, •simulated attachments (i.e. oxygen mask, IV tubes, and wound moulage)

Data Analysis

Focus group data:• analysed and then triangulated (combined)• transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically

The researcher:• Viewed each session tape to develop a thematic framework

• Quotes were lifted from their original context and re-arranged under the newly-developed appropriate thematic content.

• The final stage involved determining the relationship between quotes, and links between the data as a whole.

Findings

PreparationUnderstanding rolesSupport

•Valuable additional time in clinical practice prior to formal clinical placements in health settings

•More information on the scenario before the workshop

•3 weeks provided opportunity to review and improve practice

Preparation

Preparation

Understanding roles

•An opportunity to understand the role of other health professionals

•An opportunity to practice how to work in a team with other health professionals

Findings

Understanding roles

Understanding roles

Understanding roles

Support

•A lecturer or clinician from their discipline to discuss care and assist in planning and implementation of care to the ‘patient’

•Another student from their own profession to collaborate with and to discuss care and assist in planning and implementation of care to the ‘patient’

•‘Time out’ from the scenario to liaise with a clinician or another student from own discipline to discuss care and assist in planning and implementation of care to the ‘patient’

Findings

Support

Incidental findings

Flow on effect for staff with greater understanding of roles

Job satisfaction and camaraderie

What happens when I'm not here?

Commitment to develop further IPL opportunities

Expensive and requires considerable resources: staffing, space and consumables

Summary

The Division of Health Sciences InterProfessional Learning Group was convened for the purpose of determining practical IPL opportunities within the School of Nursing and Midwifery PBLs for students across the division.

Since the group’s inception, active debate has ensued and opportunities identified for continued improvement and integration of IPL within the health science curriculum.

This pilot study was one such opportunity.

Small study & cannot generalise but students who had not been on placement identified deficits and learnings in understanding of their role and others within the healthcare team and in patient care.