Interprofessional Education in the Context of Feeding and Swallowing

Speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and registered dietitian nutritionists are intricately involved in the management of feeding and swallowing disorders. An interprofessional education (IPE) event was held with graduate level students from these disciplines as an opportunity to practice professional collaboration around the topic of food intake. The purpose of this study was to assess the change in these healthcare students’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration following the interactive IPE event to determine the benefits of incorporating IPE into the curriculum. Methods 128 students, across three healthcare disciplines (speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and dietetics), participated in an online survey before and after the IPE event regarding their attitudes toward interprofessional healthcare teams. The IPE event focused on feeding and swallowing, included lectures from professors representing each discipline, and featured an interactive lab portion highlighting the role each discipline plays in the treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders. Results Overall, students’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration across all three departments significantly increased after the IPE event, suggesting that students considered the IPE event to be a beneficial experience. Considerable improvement was noted on questions regarding the individual role and others’ roles in an interdisciplinary setting. Conclusion These findings suggest that formal IPE events improve students’ perceptions and understanding of how a collaborative team works together using each discipline’s scope of practice.