A Novel Interprofessional Educational Experience for Internal Medicine Residents Within the Clinical Learning Environment

TL;DR

A new interprofessional education program improved internal medicine residents' knowledge and teamwork skills in collaboration with six healthcare professions.

Contribution

A novel interprofessional education curriculum was implemented and evaluated for internal medicine residents.

Findings

98% of residents showed significant improvement in knowledge of occupational therapy.

Residents reported improved effectiveness in interprofessional teamwork and communication.

The program was successful with over 50% improvement in most metrics.

Abstract

Introduction

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a novel interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum on residents’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to interprofessional collaboration.

Methods

We implemented an innovative IPE prospective curriculum in our large academic internal medicine (IM) training program (2022-2023) for a cohort of first-year IM residents. The program aimed to enhance the knowledge of six healthcare professions (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology, respiratory therapy, registered nursing, and registered dieticians) while fostering interprofessional teamwork and communication. The curriculum was delivered over two days and included experiential learning and constructive small group debriefing sessions, whereby participants reflected on key learning points. A retrospective pre-post assessment instrument was implemented to assess self-reported knowledge, skill, and attitude changes using a five-point Likert scale. This design was chosen to reduce response shift bias. Success was defined as more than 50% of trainees showing improvement when comparing self-assessed scores before and after the educational experience. This proportion was chosen as it meant the majority of participants showed improvement in each metric. A total cohort of 101 residents participated in 2022 and 2023.

Results

Comparative pre-post analysis showed a statistically significant improvement in the knowledge of all six professions (with knowledge of occupational therapy showing the most improvement in approximately 98% of residents), effectiveness of working on an interprofessional team, effectiveness of communication, and overall effectiveness as physicians.

Conclusion

This initiative can be adapted in graduate medical education (GME) training programs that seek to improve and formalize IPE.

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