Premium
Online interprofessional education in dietetic students
Author(s) -
Evans Sherryn,
Ward Catherine,
Margerison Claire
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1747-0080
pISSN - 1446-6368
DOI - 10.1111/1747-0080.12235
Subject(s) - interprofessional education , unit (ring theory) , flexibility (engineering) , teamwork , medical education , asynchronous communication , pharmacy , medicine , psychology , online discussion , nursing , health care , engineering , telecommunications , statistics , mathematics education , mathematics , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Aim The need for dietetic students to develop interprofessional collaborative practice capabilities is well recognised. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of an online interprofessional education (IPE) unit (using asynchronous and synchronous media) to improve dietetic students' confidence in understanding professional roles and attitudes associated with interprofessional practice along with exploring their experience in the unit. Methods Final year master of dietetic students undertaking a compulsory online unit in IPE were invited to complete a questionnaire examining their confidence in understanding professional roles and their interprofessional attitudes both pre‐ and post‐delivery of the unit, and to participate in semi‐structured telephone interviews to explore their experience in the unit. Results Thirty‐five dietetic students completed the questionnaire pre‐ and post‐unit, along with seven students undertaking a telephone interview. Their confidence in understanding the roles of other health professions ( P = 0.000 to 0.014), self‐assessment of interprofessional communication and teamwork skills ( P = 0.002) and attitudes towards interprofessional interaction ( P = 0.001) and interprofessional relationships ( P = 0.002) increased significantly from pre‐ to post‐unit. The students articulated positives about the experience (flexibility of the delivery, opportunity to reflect on personal factors related to teamwork, increasing their knowledge of other professions) and some challenges (lack of body language, some technological difficulties, the need for regular contribution to the teams' asynchronous discussion boards). Conclusions This study suggests that although there can be some challenges in online IPE , it can be a positive experience and can improve dietetic students' collaborative practice attitudes and confidence in understanding other professional roles.