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BACKGROUND:

Effective interprofessional teamwork is an essential component for the delivery of high-quality patient care in an increasingly complex medical environment. The objective is to evaluate whether the implementation of care pathways (CPs) improves teamwork in an acute hospital setting.

DESIGN AND MEASURES:

AIM:

This paper is a report of a study to determine the national spread of incidents of disagreement within and between professional groups in operating departments and the frequency of perceived aggressive behaviour demonstrated by operating department personnel.

BACKGROUND:

BACKGROUND:

In this mixed-method evaluation we report on student responses to an introductory interprofessional learning event, accessed by ten professions within six months of commencing their chosen professional curricula. Of 898 students, 754 (84%) completed pre and post course questionnaires, and 81 took part in uni-professional focus groups. Student responses were compared with those of 14 facilitators.

BACKGROUND:

Interprofessional education (IPE) introduced at the beginning of pre-registration training for healthcare professionals attempts to prevent the formation of negative interprofessional attitudes which may hamper future interprofessional collaboration. However, the potential for IPE depends, to some extent, on the readiness of healthcare students to learn together.

OBJECTIVES:

Clear communication is considered the sine qua non of effective teamwork. Breakdowns in communication resulting from interprofessional conflict are believed to potentiate errors in the care of patients, although there is little supportive empirical evidence. In 1999, we surveyed a national, multi-specialty sample of 6,106 residents (64.2% response rate). Three questions inquired about "serious conflict" with another staff member.

In 1972 Norwegian health and educational authorities emphasized the importance of interprofessional collaboration in health care and the need to prepare students to work across boundaries. In 1995 the Norwegian government recommended a common core in curricula for undergraduate health and social educational programmes in all university colleges throughout the country in the belief that this would improve collaborative practice and deliver more effective and efficient health care.

To gain insight into the specific interprofessional education (IPE) needs of occupational and physical therapists, an online questionnaire was developed and distributed to currently practicing therapists in the province of Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire included both open- and closed-ended questions to survey the opinions, perceptions, and experiences of therapists working both in public and private practice who possess varying levels of clinical training and years of experience.

To elicit nurses' opinions on five proposed models of maternity care in Ontario, to examine barriers to collaborative practice, and to identify factors that would encourage nurses to practise in the area of intrapartum care, a survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of nurses in Ontario (N = 750). Participants were asked whether they would consider practising in one or more of the five proposed models of maternity care. Almost half the participants endorsed the model of nurses' providing labour and delivery care to patients of family physicians and obstetricians.

BACKGROUND:

Interprofessional competence can be defined as knowledge and understanding of their own and the other team members' professional roles, comprehension of communication and teamwork and collaboration in taking care of patients.

AIM:

To evaluate whether students perceived that they had achieved interprofessional competence after participating in clinical teamwork training.

METHOD: