Literature Compendium

In order to elicit the attitudes of final year medical and 3rd year undergraduate nursing students, towards interprofessional education (IPE), a survey using a 25-item questionnaire and a five-point Likert scale design was administered to a convenience sample of 60 students. In addition, two focus group discussions were carried out, one in each student group, using a topic guide. The findings suggest that the majority of the students were aware about the concept and importance of IPE. The learning reported by participants reflected two main issues: participants emphasized firstly the importance of communication skills, both with other professionals and with patients, and secondly the development of increased awareness of others' roles. Research has demonstrated the importance of learning together as well as learning from and about different professionals within the context of a shared learning experience. Respondents should undertake appropriate skills development in IPE and be provided with knowledge and experience to ensure that they are adequately equipped to work with or learn from one another.

PubMed URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20121568