Integrating Interprofessional Education into an Academic Enrichment Program

Interprofessional education (IPE) is widely accepted as an important aspect of health professional programs. However, there is limited IPE research focused in the pre-health professional student population. The aim of this study was to measure pre-health student perceptions of IPE and their knowledge of other health professions during a summer academic enrichment program. METHODS Students who had completed their first or second year of college studies participated in the six week Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Students engaged in IPE through an online module, as well as small group activities. RESULTS Fifty-three students who participated in the 2017 SHPEP demonstrated statistically significant positive changes in IPE perceptions using the SPICE-R2 assessment tool. In addition, student perceived knowledge of the scope of practice of dental providers, physician providers, and public health professionals also improved. RESULTS Our results suggest introducing pre-health students to IPE opportunities broadens their understanding of different healthcare professions’ roles and responsibilities, as well as team leadership that is influenced by context rather than traditional hierarchies. CONCLUSION Additional research engaging pre-health students in IPE is needed. However, initial findings suggest a positive impact in engaging early learners in IPE. Received: 06/21/2018 Accepted: 08/06/2018 © 2018 Gunaldo, et al. This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. H IP & Integrating Interprofessional Education ORIGINAL RESEARCH 3(3):eP1168 | 2 Introduction There are several successful examples of academic enrichment programs in the United States targeting students interested in health careers. The documented successes of these programs are typically reflected in improved participant admission practice test scores (Johnson, Woolfolk, May, & Inglehart, 2013), academic skills, and basic science knowledge (Markel, Woolfolk, & Inglehart, 2008). The primary purpose of academic enrichment programs is to increase the amount of information and resources provided to underserved/underrepresented students, facilitating the development of a diverse competitive applicant pool. The academic pipeline goal is for those students to matriculate into professional schools. A widely recognized enrichment program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), in association with the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP). Formally known as the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), the SHPEP program was created to enlarge the academic scope for its participants. SHPEP is a free, six-week academic enrichment program designed for college freshmen or sophomores interested in pursuing healthcare careers. The thirteen SHPEP sites across the United States develop and implement unique programs but are required to incorporate standard topic areas. Starting in 2016, SHPEP sites were required to integrate interprofessional education (IPE) into their respective curricula. IPE is becoming more recognized in health education and is defined as “When students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2010). Since 1972, the Institute of Medicine (1972 & 2003) and the World Health Organization (2010) have promoted educating students together with the ultimate goal of fostering collaboration among health professions in healthcare delivery. In 2011, the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Panel (IPEC) established four competencies and thirty-eight sub-competecies for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPEC, 2011). The four competencies (Roles/Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, and Teams and Teamwork) were reaffirmed in 2016 with revisions made to the now thirty-nine sub-competencies (IPEC, 2016). The competencies and sub-competencies guide the development of IPE training experiences in the United States (IPEC, 2016).