The Nagelkert et al. (2018) article, Improving outcomes in adults with diabetes through an interprofessional collaborative practice program investigates provider, faculty, student, and patient outcomes during and after clinical rotations (ranged 4-8 week) in an immersive interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) experience.
The IPCP clinical included IP training, team huddles, patient education via group classes, IP student team exams and plan of care, and weekly case studies.
Statistically significant improvements in pre/post-test student scores support that IP training in clinical environments may improve students' and medical staff's understanding of IP teams, safety concerns, and team behaviors. Student means changed from negative to neutral on the Interprofessional Interaction Scale of the Entry-Level Interprofessional Questionnaire.
- Significant improvements in HA1c, HDL ratio, triglycerides, and blood glucose were reported in patients with an initial HA1c over 7%.
- When compared to the previous year prior to the structured IPCP, patients reported statistically significant higher perceptions of medication education and management.
- Lastly, providers were able to increase patients seen per hour.
This research supports that IPCP, with a structured system for teamwork, positively impacts students, medical staff, and patients without jeopardizing provider productivity. Although no physical therapy students were included, these results support the need for interprofessional clinical environments to train students and licensed providers to work collaboratively to improve patient outcomes.
Other IPE articles
Assessment
Benchmarking in Academic Physical Therapy Using the PT-GQ™ Survey: Wave 2 Update With Application to Accreditation Reporting
A Systematic Review of the Outcome Measures Used to Evaluate Interprofessional Learning by Health Care Professional Students During Clinical Experiences
Development and Initial Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of a Pain Competence Assessment Tool (PCAT)
Rasch analysis of the Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide to improve student reflection after interprofessional education
An exploratory, cross-sectional and multi-institutional study using three instruments to examine student perceptions of interprofessional education
Feet/Footwear-Related Fall Risk Screening Tool for Older Adults: Development and Content Validation