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Snyder K1, Schack-Dugre J2, Utley JJ3
1University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, College of Rehabilitative Sciences, St. Augustine, United States, 2University of Florida, Department of Physical Therapy, Gainesville, United States, 3University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, St. Augustine, United States
Background: Physical therapy standards have evolved to embrace interprofessional collaboration. Due to this professional commitment to improve contemporary healthcare practice, educators face the challenge of finding space and time to deliver this essential content. Interprofessional collaboration, communication, and leadership are essential to practice healthcare today; post-professional programs can bridge this knowledge gap. As these standards are new, many physical therapy practitioners lack formal interprofessional education. Many traditional online programs, including the transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy, could benefit from an innovative approach to deliver interprofessional education.
As an alternative to traditional online learning models, competency-based frameworks provide students with options to complete competencies in an accelerated manner; however, little is known about the effectiveness of this educational intervention to facilitate interprofessional engagement and collaboration. Therefore, further investigation is needed to determine if participation in a self-paced online competency-based educational framework facilitates change in student's knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.
Purpose: The focus of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an online competency-based educational framework to change knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration of post-professional healthcare students.
Methods: The research utilized a quasi-experimental pre/post survey research design surrounding an interprofessional educational intervention. Data collection consisted of a pre/post-test online survey using the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale-21 (ISVS-21) to measure a change in knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration. Participants (N=88) completed the survey at the beginning and end of the course. The educational intervention consisted of three interprofessional competencies with resultant individual assessments. Participants included post-professional masters and doctoral students who represented multiple healthcare professions in a first-term online introductory interprofessional course. Representative professions included physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, healthcare administrators, health science professionals, and healthcare educators.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between group means as determined by one-way ANOVA F([1,86] =.791, p=.376). The traditional online delivery model (n= 75, M=20.1, SD=10.8) produced a slightly larger ISVS-21 mean change score as compared to the competency-based model (n=13, M=19.2, SD=8.1).
Conclusion(s): When compared to traditional online curricular delivery, an accelerated, competency-based educational framework did not reveal a significant difference in its ability to change post-professional students' knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.
Implications: Further inquiry of this strategy is worthy of investigation. However, this study supports the viability of offering an accelerated, competency-based framework model in a post professional, online educational environment disseminating an interprofessional curriculum. This model provides physical therapists with an opportunity to accelerate completion of a structured curriculum that permits requisite knowledge and professional experience to be infused into summative assessments. This modeling minimizes logistical barriers and offers time-saving options for physical therapists to engage in formal interprofessional education to enhance their collaborative practice skills whether during continuing professional education or within an academic degree program.
Keywords: interprofessional education, competency-based education, attitudes
Funding acknowledgements: none
As an alternative to traditional online learning models, competency-based frameworks provide students with options to complete competencies in an accelerated manner; however, little is known about the effectiveness of this educational intervention to facilitate interprofessional engagement and collaboration. Therefore, further investigation is needed to determine if participation in a self-paced online competency-based educational framework facilitates change in student's knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.
Purpose: The focus of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an online competency-based educational framework to change knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration of post-professional healthcare students.
Methods: The research utilized a quasi-experimental pre/post survey research design surrounding an interprofessional educational intervention. Data collection consisted of a pre/post-test online survey using the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale-21 (ISVS-21) to measure a change in knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration. Participants (N=88) completed the survey at the beginning and end of the course. The educational intervention consisted of three interprofessional competencies with resultant individual assessments. Participants included post-professional masters and doctoral students who represented multiple healthcare professions in a first-term online introductory interprofessional course. Representative professions included physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, healthcare administrators, health science professionals, and healthcare educators.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between group means as determined by one-way ANOVA F([1,86] =.791, p=.376). The traditional online delivery model (n= 75, M=20.1, SD=10.8) produced a slightly larger ISVS-21 mean change score as compared to the competency-based model (n=13, M=19.2, SD=8.1).
Conclusion(s): When compared to traditional online curricular delivery, an accelerated, competency-based educational framework did not reveal a significant difference in its ability to change post-professional students' knowledge and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.
Implications: Further inquiry of this strategy is worthy of investigation. However, this study supports the viability of offering an accelerated, competency-based framework model in a post professional, online educational environment disseminating an interprofessional curriculum. This model provides physical therapists with an opportunity to accelerate completion of a structured curriculum that permits requisite knowledge and professional experience to be infused into summative assessments. This modeling minimizes logistical barriers and offers time-saving options for physical therapists to engage in formal interprofessional education to enhance their collaborative practice skills whether during continuing professional education or within an academic degree program.
Keywords: interprofessional education, competency-based education, attitudes
Funding acknowledgements: none
Topic: Education; Education
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Ethics number: IRB # UR-1018-229
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
