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AIM: To investigate the nature of student engagement in interprofessional interaction while on placement.

BACKGROUND: Due to continuing emphasis on improving interprofessional collaboration, UK educational establishments are required to offer pre-qualifying health and social care students interprofessional education in order that they acquire relevant competencies. However, few formal interprofessional education initiatives occur in practice settings and little is known about pre-qualifying students' non-formal learning about interprofessional issues while on placement.

PubMed URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19842962

OBJECTIVE:

To compare multi- and interdisciplinary team approaches concerning team process (teamwork) and team effectiveness (team performance and staff satisfaction) in German medical rehabilitation clinics.

DESIGN:

A cross-sectional study with a descriptive-explorative design. Setting: Eighteen medical rehabilitation clinics divided into two groups (somatic and psychosomatic indication fields).

SUBJECTS:

The 18 head physicians or psychotherapists in the clinics and their complete rehabilitation teams (n = 824).

MAIN MEASURES:

The introduction of a transformative technology into practice settings can affect the functioning of interprofessional teams, placing stress on interprofessional relationships, thus slowing adoption and change. This study explored the potential of an interprofessional education (IPE) approach to mediate this stress and facilitate the adoption of a transformative technology- Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT).

OBJECTIVE:

Mental health provides a unique opportunity for health and social care students to experience interprofessional team working and collaborative practice. We tested whether we could introduce interprofessional learning into this area of collaborative practice by choosing to adapt and use a robust practice-based interprofessional education model. We outline the steps taken to adopt and adapt the model, which includes using action research principles. The research phase consisted of three cycles of teaching and evaluation.

BACKGROUND:

Attitudes amongst health professionals can impact on the effectiveness of teamworking and patient care. Interprofessional education (IPE) is thought to contribute to the development of positive attitudes. An Interprofessional Training Unit (ITU) was set up to create an optimal learning environment for healthcare students. Students' attitudes were assessed, using a version of the Attitudes to Health Professionals Questionnaire (AHPQ) that had been translated into the students' native language. This paper describes the process undertaken to obtain a trustworthy translation.

Research has suggested that interprofessional collaboration could improve patient outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Maintaining optimal interprofessional interactions in a setting where unpredictable medical crises occur periodically is however challenging. Our study aimed to investigate the perceptions of ICU health care professionals regarding how acute medical crises affect their team interactions. We conducted 25 semi-structured interviews of ICU nurses, staff physicians, and respiratory therapists.

General internal medicine (GIM) is a communicatively complex specialty because of its diverse patient population and the number and diversity of health care providers working on a medicine ward. Effective interprofessional communication in such information-intensive environments is critical to achieving optimal patient care. Few empirical studies have explored the ways in which health professionals exchange patient information and the implications of their chosen communication forms.