Honors students in the health professions: An academic-practice partnership for developing interprofessional competencies through simulation

• Published in: Journal of professional nursing Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 985 - 994
• Main Authors: Peterson, Katherine S., Mishark, Kenneth J., Knuttinen, Grace, Hagler, Debra, Speer, Therese M., Stevens, Carol J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-09-2021
• Subjects: Academic-practice partnership; Honors students; IPE; Learning motivations; Nursing; Nursing education; Premedical education; Learning motivations; Premedical education; Nursing education; Academic-practice partnership; Honors students; IPE
• ISSN: 8755-7223; 1532-8481
• DOI: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.07.011

Abundant literature supports the value of interprofessional education (IPE) in health profession programs, but few studies focus on undergraduate honors students. The goals of this academic-practice partnership quality improvement project were to increase awareness of IPE, provide experiential opportunities to learn the principles of interprofessional practice, assess perceptions of readiness for practice, and to explore motivations and learning expectations of undergraduate nursing and pre-medical honors students. Average scores on the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) increased in several areas after the IPE simulation experiences, with small to medium effect sizes (Cohen's d) on individual items and two subscales (Teamwork & Collaboration and Positive Professional Identity). Themes identified in the narrative data were opportunity, fun, self-awareness, situational awareness, and the value of teamwork. These findings add to literature on honor students' expectations and motivations for learning and can be used in designing interprofessional collaborative learning activities for undergraduate health profession students.
•Elective interprofessional education (IPE) for health profession honors students can improve readiness for practice•Motivations and expectations for learning of health profession honors students may differ•Honors students reported increased self-awareness, situational awareness, and value of teamwork•Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale revealed small to medium effect in teamwork/positive professional identity