Assessment of Healthcare Learners’ Perceptions of Interprofessional Education Experiences and Implications for Curriculum Evolution.

The Dr. Hotspot event is the second of four interprofessional education (IPE) activities integrated across a four-year curriculum and engages learners from schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and social work. The annual event was initiated in-person fall of 2013 and transitioned online in 2018 secondary to the pandemic. The same assessment tools to gauge learner attitudes have been utilized for ten years. Learner-perceived value of the IPE experience for education and future practice readiness has declined. Since the transition to a virtual event, the data has not been analyzed in-depth for possible rationale for the decline and usefulness of the assessment tools in determining the reasoning. The aim is to review the assessment tools and associated data to better understand learner perceptions and guide informed IPE curricular changes.

The post-event survey is comprised of four IPEC competency questions, thirty-seven validated questions from the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), four questions to assess perceived event value, logistics, and two questions for qualitative feedback. Survey completion was an expectation for all participants. Six years of survey data was reviewed and the percentage of learners agreeing/strongly agreeing to each statement was compared across years. A benchmark of 80% was set as favorable learner attitudes and beliefs towards interprofessional education.

Over six years, the benchmark was achieved for all IPEC competency questions, 86% of validated questions, and 50% of event-specific questions. Of the validated questions of concern, one met the benchmark once and four never achieved the benchmark. The question asking learners to rate their perceived value of the event met the benchmark twice but continues to decline. All logistics questions met the benchmark except twice for organization of the event. Qualitative comments will be categorized into themes for further review.

Historically, learners exhibited positive attitudes and beliefs for most survey questions, yet a decline in the perceived value of the event has been demonstrated. The rationale for the decline cannot be elicited from the validated questions alone. Further review of the qualitative comments is needed to provide insight for decline in select interprofessional questions and overall perceived value.

Preliminary review of qualitative comments suggests learners may benefit from greater familiarity about other professions and interprofessional interactions and implementation of new educational content. A summer IPE curriculum and assessment workshop will allow further discussion of data and assessment tools to guide future curricular changes.