Date of Award

8-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Dr. Joshua Fegley

Second Supervisor

Dr. Kathleen Dever

Abstract

Interprofessional collaboration is a key component of the provision of high quality, safe, and effective healthcare. The complex needs of patients demand that healthcare professionals demonstrate competency within their particular discipline, and in interprofessional collaboration. The programs that educate healthcare professionals, including physical therapy programs, are obliged to provide students interprofessional education (IPE) to meet accreditation guidelines and to prepare students for professional practice. The literature lacks evidence on the ability of IPE to impact higher level learning outcomes, such as students’ interprofessional behaviors. The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of an IPE experience on Doctor of Physical Therapy students’ interprofessional values and behaviors. In addition, the interprofessional values and behaviors of all students who participated in IPE were compared to one another. Findings from this quantitative quasi-experimental study indicate that the IPE experience improved the self-assessed interprofessional behaviors of the physical therapy students who participated, as compared to peers who did not. Additionally, among the students who participated in IPE, the most novice students retrospectively identified significantly lower pretest levels of interprofessional behaviors, as compared to students who were approaching the end of their program. However, despite these initial differences, students of all disciplines experienced a similar amount of growth in their self-reported interprofessional values and interactions at the conclusion of the IPE experience. In this study, IPE based on interprofessional competency frameworks, with learning objectives aligned to instructional methods produced higher level learning outcomes, including changes in self-perceived interprofessional interactions and behaviors.

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