Search

Purpose – Interprofessional practice (IPP) is one way to structure collaborations to more effectively meet the complex needs of students in educational settings. This article explores the lessons learned when one research team implemented interprofessional education (IPE) experiences in partnership with a public elementary school and pre-service professionals from elementary education, special education and communication science and disorders. Design/methodology/approach – This reflective article explores the lived experiences of researchers and partners who completed an IPE experience within one professional development school’s site. Researcher anecdotes are included to support the viewpoints shared. Findings – It was discovered that IPE experiences are essential to facilitate meaningful collaborations for pre-service professionals to learn with and from one another; however, this requires time, preparation and is most effective when teacher mentors and university professors lead with vulnerability and model flexibility. Investment in IPE is challenging but worth the effort when learning outcomes are realized. Originality/value – Specific details regarding the structure of this experience are shared as well as future directional goals for programs hoping to implement IPE in their professional practice programs.

Abstract Background Student-led clinics can provide low-cost speciality care and practical interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. In Australia, there are currently limited speciality services available that provide neurodevelopmental assessments that consider fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) as one possible outcome. The aim of the current study was to understand student experiences in a novel interprofessional student-led clinic for children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure. Method Seventeen allied health university students (11 occupational therapy; 6 psychology) participated in individual semi-structured interviews following completion of a 10-week clinic placement. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo12. Results Four main themes were generated: (1) Interprofessional practice a key for students’ development as future healthcare professionals; (2) Meaningful relationships and students’ belief they made a difference; (3) Novel challenges tested students’ capabilities on placement; and (4) Supervisor attitude and approach to learning supported student development. Conclusions The current study demonstrated that the interprofessional student-led neurodevelopmental clinic provided a valuable IPE opportunity for students.

Abstract Background Interprofessional collaborative team-based approaches to care in health service delivery has been identified as important to health care reform around the world. Many academic institutions have integrated interprofessional education (IPE) into curricula for pre-licensure students in healthcare disciplines, but few provide formal initiatives for interprofessional practice (IPP). It is recognized that experiential learning (EL) can play a significant role supporting IPP education initiatives; however, little is known of how EL is used within education for IPP in healthcare settings. Methods We conducted a scoping review to map peer-reviewed literature describing IPP education initiatives involving EL for pre-licensure students in healthcare disciplines. A literature search was executed in MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Social Services Abstracts. After deduplication, two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts of 5664 records and then 252 full-text articles that yielded 100 articles for data extraction. Data was extracted using an Excel template, and results synthesized for presentation in narrative and tabular formats. Results The 100 included articles represented 12 countries and IPP education initiatives were described in three main typologies of literature – primary research, program descriptions, and program evaluations. Forty-three articles used a theory, framework, or model for design of their initiatives with only eight specific to EL. A variety of teaching and learning strategies were employed, such as small interprofessional groups of students, team huddles, direct provision of care, and reflective activities, but few initiatives utilized a full EL cycle. A range of perspectives and outcomes were evaluated such as student learning outcomes, including competencies associated with IPP, impacts and perceptions of the IPP initiatives, and others such as client satisfaction. Conclusion Few educational frameworks specific to EL have been used to inform EL teaching and learning strategies to consolidate IPE learning and prepare students for IPP in healthcare settings. Further development and evaluation of existing EL frameworks and models would be beneficial in supporting robust IPP educational initiatives for students in healthcare disciplines. Intentional, thoughtful, and comprehensive use of EL informed by theory can contribute important advances in IPP educational approaches and the preparation of a future health care workforce.

Background: Healthcare professionals are required to work effectively together to deliver the best healthcare services. Without awareness of other healthcare professionals’ roles and responsibilities, interprofessional practice (IPP) cannot be optimally achieved. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ awareness of audiology and speech-language pathology (SLP) services in Saudi Arabia. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of two parts. The content of a 20-item paper questionnaire was firstly validated. The full-scale study addressed the aim through distributing questionnaire items among potential participants. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used. Results: A total of 403 participants completed the questionnaires for the main study. Most of the participants were Saudi citizens (84.1%), aged 18 years – 40 years (84.8%) years, and lived in Riyadh region (76.2%). Allied health professionals (40.2%), physicians (22.6%), nursing (15.4%) and dentistry (11.2%) were the main group of participants working mainly at governmental hospitals (69.2%). Of the total participants, 92.6% and 95.3% reported being fully aware of the services provided by audiologists and SLPs, respectively. No statistically significant association between the specialty of participants and their familiarity with the scope of practice for SLPs and audiologists was determined. Conclusion: Our study examined healthcare professionals’ awareness of audiology and SLP services and revealed a high level of awareness. Contribution: The existed level of awareness is expected to facilitate IPP and enhance the quality of care. Still, awareness campaigns about audiology and SLP services are needed to address the existing lack of knowledge among some healthcare professionals.

South Africa’s current healthcare system is unequal and inefficient, with 71% of the population accessing underfunded public healthcare facilities. The imminent National Health Insurance (NHI) aims to balance the inequality between private and public health services by providing universal healthcare. The high levels of road accidents, violence and injuries in South Africa, being one of the quadruple burdens of diseases frequently causing hand injuries with resultant devastating economic and functional implications without rehabilitation services, are concerning. The plea is that for specialised injuries, such as hand injuries, the NHI implementation requires innovative interprofessional health education and practice when managing individuals who sustained hand injuries optimally to return to preinjury functioning. When considering the devastating burden of mismanaged hand injuries on all levels of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework, all South Africans deserve rehabilitation by physiotherapists and occupational therapists based on each occupation’s unique strengths. Anecdotally, a lack of interprofessional undergraduate and postgraduate hand rehabilitation education and hand-injured patient management exists in South Africa, highlighting the need for urgent change towards future practice and NHI. This commentary aims to apply the ICF core sets to inform interprofessional hand rehabilitation delivery by physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Clinical implication: Interprofessional rehabilitation framed in the ICF Core Set, accompanied by inclusive interprofessional education opportunities according to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSAs) scope of practice, will benefit South Africans who sustained hand injuries to fully recover and maximise their functional performance considering the type of injuries sustained.

As defined by the World Health Organization, interprofessional practice is the “collaborative practice that happens when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together with patients, families, carers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings” (World Health Organization, 2010, p. 7). Interprofessional collaborative practice is increasingly recognized as a means of best practice in the field of social work. Growing in momentum, interprofessional collaboration fosters an environment for a variety of professionals to learn from one another and gain greater insight, technique, and perspective on the identified objective. This article presents a case study of the experiences of faculty and graduate students at the University of Oklahoma in the respective fields of social work and regional and city planning as they partnered with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of housing resources, which included online surveys, focus groups with service providers, community stakeholders, and persons with lived experience of homelessness and/or housing instability. The findings indicate several key themes of the interprofessional collaboration between social work and regional and city planning: 1) reward of partnership, 2) city structures of homelessness, and 3) the multi-contextual factors impacting homelessness. The results suggest that by working with differing professions, faculty and students gained greater experience and opportunity, expanding their scope on modalities, assessment methodologies, analyzation techniques, and additional expertise on large-scale community intervention tactics. These findings have implications for future interprofessional partnerships that could foster dynamic community-level interventions and improvements.

ABSTRACTInterprofessional education is expected to promote collaborative practice and should therefore be included in health professionals’ curricula. Reports on interprofessional curricular development and its evaluation are rare. We therefore undertook a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a new, mandatory course on interprofessional collaboration for medical students during their third year of the Bachelor of Medicine study programme. The newly developed and implemented course spans over six weeks and was designed in a hybrid, flipped-classroom format. It incorporates experience- and case-based learning as well as interactions with other health professionals. Each student completes an eLearning and a clinical workshadowing individually before attending the – due to the pandemic – virtual live lectures. To assess quality and usefulness of teaching-learning formats and course structure to learn about interprofessional collaboration and to develop interprofessional competencies and identity, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed with more than 280 medical students and 26 nurse educators from teaching hospitals using online surveys (open & closed-ended format). Data were analyzed descriptively and using content analysis processes. Students appreciated the flipped-classroom concept, the real-world case-based learning scenarios with interprofessional lecturer teams, and the possibility of an experience-based learning opportunity in the clinical setting including interaction with students and professionals from other health professions. Interprofessional identity did not change during the course. Evaluation data showed that the course is a promising approach for teaching-learning interprofessional competencies to medical students. The evaluation revealed three factors that determined the success of this course, namely, a flipped-classroom concept, the individual workshadowing of medical students with another health professional, mainly nurses, and live sessions with interprofessional teaching-learning teams. The course structure and teaching-learning methods showed potential and could serve as a template for interprofessional course development in other institutions and on other course topics.

Abstract To determine the added value of interprofessional interventions over existing mono-professional practice, elucidation of specific health care issues, service delivery contexts and benefits of combining multiple service provider is required. However, from existing literature, it is difficult to develop a sense of the evidence that supports interprofessional practice initiatives involving chiropractors. This review aims to describe and explore the contexts, outcomes, and barriers and facilitators relating to interprofessional practice involving chiropractors available in current literature. A search of Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases covering the literature from 2005 to October 2021 was conducted, after which a narrative review of identified peer-reviewed articles written in English was performed. We included data from seven studies, conducted across four distinct service delivery contexts. Eight interprofessional practice partners were identified, and eight factors appear to act as barriers and facilitators. Data suggests that incorporating chiropractors into community health and sports medicine interprofessional practice interventions is achievable and appears to impact collaborative practice positively. For older adults with low back pain, quality of life and care-related satisfaction are potential relevant outcomes for the evaluation of interprofessional practice interventions. There is currently very limited evidence from which to judge the value of interprofessional practice interventions, as available literature appears to focus mainly on interprofessional collaboration. Studies conducted specifically to evaluate interprofessional practice solutions and addressing specific health care issues or practice domains are urgently required.

Abstract Background The current study aimed to explore the team members’ experiences in the socialization process for becoming a collaborator in an interprofessional team. Method This qualitative study is conducted using an inductive qualitative content analysis approach. Participants consisted of 32 physicians (n = 16) and nurses (n = 16) who participated by purposeful sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman approach. Results In the study, “the perceived confrontation between interprofessional professionalism and uni-professionalism in the interprofessional socialization process” is explored as the theme, including two categories: “interprofessional professionalism commitment” as a facilitator and “uni-professional centrism” as a barrier. Conclusion A reciprocal dimension in interprofessional socialization was explored. Interprofessional professionalism adherence and team-centered accountability among team members were explored as a facilitator. The uni-professional culture and immature interprofessional collaboration competencies of team members disrupted the interprofessional socialization process.

Background: Enhancing oral health care services provided through inter-professional collaboration between medical and dental practitioner is important, and even essential. The purpose of this study is to assess the attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice among medical students attending colleges in Southern India. Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted by inviting 900 medical students and interns of medical colleges in coastal South India with prior information and permission. The questionnaire consisted of 11 questions to assess attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice and was distributed in pen & paper format to participants who agreed to take part in the study. Chi square test was employed for data analysis. The responses obtained were correlated with age, gender and year of study of participants using Pearson’s correlation test Results: Most of the students agreed that oral health was an integral part of systemic health, however participants disagreed on attending compulsory rotation in dentistry at a statistically significant level (p

الملخص: أهداف البحث: التعلم التفاعلي من خلال التعليم المهني المشترك يعزز الممارسة التعاونية. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تحديد المواقف والإدراك والاستعداد تجاه التعليم المهني المشترك والممارسة بين طلاب التخصصات الصحية الجامعيين العمانيين. طرق البحث: شارك 327 طالب جامعي عماني من التخصصات الصحية المختلفة في هذه الدراسة المقطعية. تم جمع البيانات من خلال استبانة عبر الإنترنت من خلال أداتين موثقتين مسبقا ومعولتين: 1) إدراك الطلاب للتعليم السريري المهني المشترك المنقحة، 2) مقياس الجاهزية المعدل للتعليم المهني المشترك. تم تحليل البيانات باستخدام الإحصاء الوصفي والاستنتاجي. النتائج: كان المتوسط العام لموقف الطلاب واستعدادهم تجاه التعليم السريري المهني المشترك 56.77 مع انحراف معياري5.51. وكان متوسط الدرجة الإجمالية لإدراك الطلاب تجاه التعليم السريري المهني المشترك 41.42 مع انحراف معياري4.56. كان المتوسط العام لدرجات المواقف والإدراك والاستعداد تجاه التعليم المهني المشترك أعلى بين طلاب الصيدلة مقارنة بالطلاب في التخصصات الصحية الأخرى رغم أنه لم يلاحظ أي فروق إحصائية. الاستنتاجات: بشكل عام، كشفت الدراسة أن جميع طلاب التخصصات الصحية في عمان، بغض النظر عن التخصص، أظهروا موقفا إيجابيا، وحالة عالية من الاستعداد، وإدراكا إيجابيا تجاه التعليم والممارسة المهنية المشتركة. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، قدر جميع المهنيين الصحيين العمل الجماعي والتعاون كأساسيات. Abstract: Objectives: Interactive learning through interprofessional education enhances collaborative practice. This study aims to determine the attitude, perception, and readiness of Omani undergraduate health professions students toward interprofessional education and practice. Methods: A total of 327 Omani undergraduates across different health fields participated in this cross-sectional study. Data was gathered via an online-based survey by using two previously validated and reliable tools: 1) the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-revised (SPICE-R2) and 2) the Readiness for Interprofessional Education Scale-modified. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The overall mean score of the students' attitude and readiness toward interprofessional education was 56.77 (SD = 5.51). The overall mean score of the students' perception toward interprofessional education was 41.42 (SD = 4.56). The overall mean attitude and readiness score and perception score were higher for the pharmacy students than for the rest of the students; however, no statistically significant difference was noted in the scores of attitude and readiness (p > .05), and perception (p > .05). Conclusions: Overall, the study revealed that all the health professionals in Oman, irrespective of the profession, disclosed a favourable attitude, a high state of readiness, and a positive perception toward interprofessional education and practice. Furthermore, all the health professionals considered teamwork and collaboration to be essential for better quality care and practice.

The wide range of challenges facing college athletes often results in the need for micro and macro mental health services. This article examines a competency-based model of integrated care. A team of mental health professionals must be intentionally created to support athletes throughout various aspects of their unique experience. Interprofessional practice benefits college athletes by providing them with a broad spectrum of care throughout their college experience.

Vandana Ahluwalia,1 Taucha Inrig,2 Tiffany Larsen,3 Rachel Shupak,4 Tripti Papneja,1 Arthur Karasik,5 Carol Kennedy,2 Katie Lundon6 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, William Osler Health System, Brampton, ON, Canada; 2Musculoskeletal Health and Outcomes Research, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; 3Department of Physiotherapy, Headwaters Healthcare Centre, Orangeville, ON, Canada; 4Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; 5Independent Rheumatology Practice, Etobicoke, ON, Canada; 6Continuing Professional Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaCorrespondence: Vandana AhluwaliaIndependent Community Rheumatology Practice, 314-40 Finchgate Boulevard, Brampton, ON, Canada, L6T 3J1 Tel +1 905-799-1850 Ext 221Fax +1 905-799-8040Email a7mad.al0rabi@gmail.comPurpose: This study describes patient care experiences of solo-rheumatologist and co-managed care models utilizing an Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care-trained Extended Role Practitioner (ACPAC-ERP) in three community rheumatology practices.Materials and Methods: Patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) were assigned to care provided by one of three (2 senior, 1 early-career) community-based rheumatologists (usual care), or an ACPAC-ERP (co-managed care) for the 6-months following diagnosis. Patient experiences were surveyed using validated measures of patient satisfaction (Patient Doctor Interaction Scale-PDIS), global ratings of confidence and satisfaction, referral patterns, disease activity (RADAI) and self-perceived disability (HAQ-Disability) as well as demographic information. Practice capacity was evaluated 18-months prior to, and across, the study period.Results: Of 55 participants (mean age 56.6 years, 61.8% female), 33 received co-managed care. Most participants were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (65.5%) with a median symptom duration of 1.1 years. At 6-months, patients from both models of care were equally satisfied in terms of the information provided (usual care 4.6 vs co-managed care 4.7/5=greater satisfaction), rapport with health-care provider (4.6 vs 4.6/5) and having needs met (4.7 vs 4.5/5). Overall satisfaction was high (87.2 vs 85.3/100=completely satisfied) as was confidence in the system by which care was received (85.0 vs 82.1/100=completely confident). Usual care patients reported higher perceived disability than co-managed patients (HAQ-Disability 0.5 vs 0.2/3=unable to do). Significant differences in overall RADAI score (p=0.014) were found between the two models. The senior rheumatologist, with a previously saturated practice, attained a 37% capacity increase for new patients utilizing the co-managed care model.Conclusion: The ACPAC-ERP model was equivalent to the solo-rheumatologist model with regard to patient experience and satisfaction. A co-management model utilizing a highly trained ACPAC-ERP can increase capacity in community rheumatology clinics for patients newly diagnosed with IA while maintaining confidence and satisfaction with their care.Keywords: health service accessibility, interprofessional practice, rheumatology, patient satisfaction, quality improvement, extended role practitioner, integrated delivery systems, model of care

Objective: Dose corrected for thyroid gland size is one of the methods used to determine I-131 activity for patients with Graves’ disease. This study was aimed to find the success rate of this method and the predictors for successful I-131 treatment. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted in patients with Graves’ disease who received the first dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. Patients received a fixed RAI dose of either 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 mCi for corresponding thyroid gland size of ≤ 50, 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, and >200 grams, respectively. The treatment outcome was assessed 6 to 9 months after the therapy based on serum free thyroxine and serum thyroid stimulating hormone. Successful treatment was defined as euthyroid and hypothyroid. Results: A total of 179 patients (126 females; mean age: 40.8 years) were enrolled. One patient was excluded from the outcome analysis due to undetermined laboratory results. The success rate of RAI therapy was 50% (95% CI: 42.4-57.6). Patients with gland size ≤ 50 gm had the highest success rate of 59.6%. Multivariable analysis showed no significant association between sex, thyroid gland size, and prior antithyroid drug use and successful treatment. Conclusion: First RAI therapy using dose corrected for thyroid gland size had a modest success rate of 50% in patients with Grave’s disease. Sex, thyroid gland size, and prior antithyroid drug use were not significantly associated with the treatment outcome.

Objective: This study aims to perform the situation analysis about nursing student preparation proceeding interprofessional practice to lead the improvement of the interprofessional education curriculum. Methods: This is a situation analysis, 58 participants (74.36 %) obtained from the Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University, Thailand between August and December 2019. Personal information, closed-ended questionnaires, and descriptive questionnaires were utilized to assess the participants’ perspective approaching the preparation for interprofessional practice. Reflecting and interpreting methods were used to categorize the participants’ descriptive answers. Additionally, means, frequency, and percentages were reported appropriately. Results: Overall, 45 (77.6 %) participants never taken the IPE course before. 22.4 % who ever studied the IPE course stated that communication is the ability that would encourage them to apply to multidisciplinary nursing practice the most. In an open-ended question, participants indicated that self-identity is the main reason to diminish their confidence in multidisciplinary nursing practice (Non-IPE attendants, n = 19 (32.76 %), IPE attendants, n = 6 (10.34 %)). Furthermore, 77.78 % of them said they prefer to prepare themselves in nursing practice to work with other healthcare professionals collaboratively. Conclusion: IPE not only benefits healthcare scholars to qualify themselves for serving in their field but also collaboratively operate with different healthcare personnel. Notwithstanding, communication skills, self-identity, and nursing practice skills need to be prepared.

Abstract Background Interprofessional team-based care has been widely adopted in elite level athletic health and performance practice. Chiropractors can claim some penetration as health care service providers in high level sport. However, their position as valued members of interprofessional health care teams, especially those built around traditional medical organisational structures, is unclear. This investigation sought to explore the perceived role and value of chiropractors as service providers in elite Danish football clubs. Methods A comparative qualitative case study was conducted. Six Danish premiere league (Superliga) clubs were purposively sampled to compare and contrast instances where chiropractors were both present and absent from the health care team. Triangulated responses were solicited from healthcare coordinators, chiropractors and athletes within each club’s organization through semi-structured individual interviews. The audio-recorded responses were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using a framework approach. Results Data were collected September and November 2019. A coding framework of 14 codes and 4 code families emerged, centering around the role of chiropractors, benefits of utilizing chiropractic care and facilitators and barriers to interprofessional practice. From this framework, three themes were abstracted, these being: “Broadening horizons”, “In-house preferred to take-away” and “Already covered, or even necessary?” Conclusion In this practice context, chiropractors fill the role of musculoskeletal health care service providers. Their perceived value stems from additional expert disciplinary knowledge, improved diagnostic triage and increased treatment flexibility. However, where not utilized, the role of a spinal health expert is questioned and when acknowledged, is limited to that of a technician/therapist. It is unclear from this investigation whether chiropractors can claim core provider status. Further exploration of this interesting context of interprofessional practice is warranted.

Introduction: Dental settings have not traditionally functioned as access points to the health care system, however they can serve patients who may not otherwise seek routine health care. Millions of Americans annually visit either a dental or primary care provider, but not always both as recommended, even though multiple health co-morbidities can manifest in and impact oral health. Offering multidisciplinary health services in a dental setting has potential to reach unserved populations. Description: Innovative partnerships between schools of dentistry, pharmacy, social work, and nursing were designed to promote integrated service delivery in the emerging workforce and the purposeful inclusion of oral health in integrated care settings. Discussion: Oral complications of systemic disease and systemic complications of oral disease impose significant burdens on populations and the public health infrastructure in terms of economic cost, disability, and mortality. Exacerbated by the lack of integrated services, intersecting social, economic, and health issues perpetuate disparities and negative health outcomes. Care is often focused on reactive rather than preventive measures therefore addressing only the acute issue instead of the underlying, causative problem(s). Conclusion: We describe steps for integrated, whole-health services and lessons learned for other academic health institutions and interprofessional settings considering integrated clinical models.

Background: Despite being identified as a solution to the challenges related to healthcare service delivery, the incorporation of interprofessional practice (IPP) into clinical practice has been limited. To implement an interprofessional model of healthcare, successfully, health professionals need to have an understanding of IPP and its related content. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the health professionals’ perceptions, attitudes and understanding of IPP at a selected community health centre. Setting: This study was conducted at a primary healthcare facility in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods: Ethical clearance and permission to conduct the study was obtained from all relevant stakeholders. Four focus group discussions were conducted with health professionals at the facility. Themes, codes and categories were highlighted from the transcripts of the audiotape-recorded data. Findings: The findings suggest that health professionals do not have an understanding of IPP, and are thus unable to apply it practically. The health professionals perceived certain healthcare processes in the facility as barriers to the integration of practices. In addition, the health professionals expressed the need for interprofessional relationships, creation of opportunities for IPP, and communication to transform the current practice. Conclusion: To implement IPP into this facility, effectively, the authors of this study recommend that facility management implement campaigns for and training on, the transition to IPP, staff induction programmes and regular meetings.

The increased pressure on primary care makes it important for other health care providers, such as community pharmacists, to collaborate with general practitioners in activities related to chronic disease care. Therefore, the objective of the present project was to develop a protocol of action that allows close pharmacist-physician collaboration to carry out a coordinated action for very early detection of cognitive impairment (CI).Methods: A comparative study to promote early detection of CI was conducted in 19 community pharmacies divided into two groups: one group with interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and one group without interprofessional collaboration (NonIPC). IPC was defined as an interactive procedure involving all pharmacists, general practitioners and neurologists. A total of 281 subjects with subjective memory complaints were recruited. Three tests were used in the community pharmacies to detect possible CI: Memory Impairment Screening, Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire, and Semantic Verbal Fluency. Individuals with at least one positive cognitive test compatible with CI, were referred to primary care, and when appropriate, to the neurology service. Finally, we evaluated the differences in clinical and diagnostic follow-up in both groups after six months.Results: The NonIPC study group included 38 subjects compatible with CI referred to primary care (27.54%). Ten were further referred to a neurology department (7.25%) and four of them (2.90%) obtained a confirmed clinical diagnosis of CI. In contrast, in the IPC group, 46 subjects (32.17%) showed results compatible with CI and were referred to primary care. Of these, 21 (14.68%) were subsequently referred to a neurology service, while the remaining 25 were followed up by primary care. Nineteen individuals out of those referred to a neurology service obtained a confirmed clinical diagnosis of CI (13.29%). The percentage of subjects in the NonIPC group referred to neurology and the percentage of subjects diagnosed with CI, was significantly lower in comparison to the IPC group (p-value = 0.0233; p-value = 0.0007, respectively).Conclusions: The creation of IPC teams involving community pharmacists, general practitioners, and neurologists allow for increased detection of patients with CI or undiagnosed dementia and facilitates their clinical follow-up. This opens the possibility of diagnosis in patients in the very early stages of dementia, which can have positive implications to improve the prognosis and delay the evolution of the disease.

Objective: This study aims to perform the situation analysis about nursing student preparation proceeding interprofessional practice to lead the improvement of the interprofessional education curriculum. Methods: This is a situation analysis, 58 participants (74.36 %) obtained from the Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University, Thailand between August and December 2019. Personal information, closed-ended questionnaires, and descriptive questionnaires were utilized to assess the participants’ perspective approaching the preparation for interprofessional practice. Reflecting and interpreting methods were used to categorize the participants’ descriptive answers. Additionally, means, frequency, and percentages were reported appropriately. Results: Overall, 45 (77.6 %) participants never taken the IPE course before. 22.4 % who ever studied the IPE course stated that communication is the ability that would encourage them to apply to multidisciplinary nursing practice the most. In an open-ended question, participants indicated that self-identity is the main reason to diminish their confidence in multidisciplinary nursing practice (Non-IPE attendants, n = 19 (32.76 %), IPE attendants, n = 6 (10.34 %)). Furthermore, 77.78 % of them said they prefer to prepare themselves in nursing practice to work with other healthcare professionals collaboratively. Conclusion: IPE not only benefits healthcare scholars to qualify themselves for serving in their field but also collaboratively operate with different healthcare personnel. Notwithstanding, communication skills, self-identity, and nursing practice skills need to be prepared.

Objective: Dose corrected for thyroid gland size is one of the methods used to determine I-131 activity for patients with Graves’ disease. This study was aimed to find the success rate of this method and the predictors for successful I-131 treatment. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted in patients with Graves’ disease who received the first dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. Patients received a fixed RAI dose of either 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 mCi for corresponding thyroid gland size of ≤ 50, 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, and >200 grams, respectively. The treatment outcome was assessed 6 to 9 months after the therapy based on serum free thyroxine and serum thyroid stimulating hormone. Successful treatment was defined as euthyroid and hypothyroid. Results: A total of 179 patients (126 females; mean age: 40.8 years) were enrolled. One patient was excluded from the outcome analysis due to undetermined laboratory results. The success rate of RAI therapy was 50% (95% CI: 42.4-57.6). Patients with gland size ≤ 50 gm had the highest success rate of 59.6%. Multivariable analysis showed no significant association between sex, thyroid gland size, and prior antithyroid drug use and successful treatment. Conclusion: First RAI therapy using dose corrected for thyroid gland size had a modest success rate of 50% in patients with Grave’s disease. Sex, thyroid gland size, and prior antithyroid drug use were not significantly associated with the treatment outcome.

It is essential that members of a successful interprofessional healthcare delivery team understand the crucial roles and responsibilities of each profession. Participation in interprofessional education and practice has been suggested to improve understanding of the roles of each discipline on an allied health team, however, often understanding of the occupational therapy scope of practice is confusing to other allied health professionals. This study presents the outcomes of a community-based interprofessional practice experience with occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant students on perceived understanding of each profession’s roles and responsibilities. In addition, this study introduces the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) Interprofessional Actual and Perceived Knowledge Questionnaire to assess actual understanding of health professions’ roles and responsibilities. The inclusion of occupational therapy students in the interprofessional practice experience resulted in a significant increase in physical therapy and physician assistant students’ perceived understanding of occupational therapy’s scope of practice (an increase of 11.0% and 23.4%, respectively, p

Three graduate health science programs at a liberal arts university collaborated with a Hispanic senior community center to develop a program to address the needs of the transforming healthcare delivery system with an integrative medicine and health (IMH) and interprofessional practice (IPP) focus. The partnership resulted in a case-based IPP student experience with the goal of developing a student-authored case study to improve the health of center clients using the social determinants of health. The evaluation of student outcomes was based on qualitative analysis of written case studies and validated quantitative assessment tools, whereas client outcomes were measured by qualitative feedback. Final case studies demonstrated a range of case-study completion, with most teams including the majority of unique case-study elements. Senior community clients reported comfort with the program and recommended the program to others. After implementation, the academic-community partnership model was shown to be successful in implementing a strategy to prepare students for the IPP workforce in the absence of best practice recommendations.

Relationship-based care is a philosophy, an operational plan for excellence and a way of being. It is essential that the transformation of a health care organization be a team effort based on a common vision, values ​​and anticipated results. Keywords: Relationships, Health Care Team, Interprofessional Practice

Introduction: Effectiveness of different strategies to engage healthcare professionals in collaborative processes that seek to optimize practice is unknown. The PREDIAPS project aims to assess the effect of different engagement procedures in the creation of a facilitated interprofessional collaborative process to optimize type-2 diabetes (T2D) prevention in routine Primary Care (PHC). Theory/Methods: Randomized cluster implementation trial in which nine PHC centers from Osakidetza were allocated to two different procedures to engage family physicians and nurses. All centers received training on effective healthy lifestyles interventions for T2D prevention. Headed by a local leader and an external facilitator, centers conducted a collaborative structured process to model and adapt the intervention and its implementation to their specific context. One of the groups applied this strategy globally, promoting the cooperation of all health professionals from the beginning. The other performed it sequentially, centered first on nurses, who lately obtained the pragmatic cooperation of physicians. All patients without diabetes aged ≥30 years old at high risk of developing T2D who attended collaborating centers during the study period were eligible for program inclusion. Main outcome measures focus on changes in T2D prevention practice indicators after 24 months. The present study presents the short-term results. Results: After 4 months of trial fieldwork, 38966 patients aged ≥30 years old attended at least once to their family physician, of whom 2845 (7.3%) were eligible for program inclusion as having an abnormal glucose level (≥110-125 mg/dl) previous to any of their visits. Of those, 272 (10.6%) have been addressed by assessing their healthy lifestyles in both comparison groups. The proportion of attending patients at risk of T2D receiving a personalized prescription of a healthy lifestyle change (N=130) was slightly higher in the Global (5.5%; range 7.3%-4.6%) than in the Sequential group (4.5%; range 6.4%-2.2%). When considering program spreading, 239 additional at risk patients recruited by nurses or others without T2D risk have also received a lifestyle prescription. Discussion: Preliminary results showed that the short-term reach of the implanted intervention programs is still limited. Results at 6 and 9 months (in process) will provide more precise data on the most effective procedure to change healthy lifestyle promotion practice. Conclusions and lessons learned: The PEDIAPS implementation strategy is feasible and the exposition of professionals in both groups has been high. Center’s organizational context has determined the impact of the implementation strategies: work overload, multiple corporative initiatives, staff movement, etc. Professional commitment is a key factor for both the process of implementation and its results. Limitations: The limited number of centers may affect the generalizability of results. Lack of motivation of patients may affect actual reach of the intervention programs. At center´s level, maintaining the commitment of professionals throughout the project and personnel movement are the major threats. Suggestions for future research: An adequate fit between "fidelity" of the strategy and the necessary "adaptability" to the local context of centers remains to be a big challenge. The time necessary for the achievement of relevant changes in clinical practice is certainly unknown.

Dramatic changes in the health system due to national health reform are raising important questions regarding the educational preparation of social workers for the new health arena. While dual-degree programs in public health and social work can be an important response to what is needed educationally, little is known about them. The National MSW/MPH Programs Study surveyed MSW/MPH program administrators to better understand the prevalence, models, structure, and challenges of these dual-degree programs. Forty-two programs were identified, and 97.6% of those contacted participated (n=41). Findings indicate that MSW/MPH programs are popular, increasing, geographically dispersed, and drawing talented students interested in trans-disciplinary public health social work practice. Challenges for these programs include the need for greater institutional support, particularly funding, and a general lack of best practices for MSW/MPH education. While findings from this study suggest graduates appear especially well-prepared for leadership and practice in the new health environment, additional research is needed to assess their particular contributions and career trajectories.

With current global healthcare trends, there is a growing need for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) in collaborative care of persons with chronic medical conditions. Tools and models for IPE and IPP are now available, but they are not yet in widespread use. Developmental-behavioural paediatrics is a medical discipline that is characterized by IPP with an encouraging emergence of this speciality in India and other developing countries. This article provides an overview of IPE and IPP, followed by a precise account of an Indian institution, which provides services to children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders utilizing an IPP approach and implementing IPE to its trainees.

This research protocol illustrates the use of implementation science to support the development, dissemination and integration in primary care of effective and sustainable collaborative pharmacy services for chronic care management. The objective is to evaluate the implementation and the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led patient support program including regular motivational interviews; medication adherence, patient-reported outcomes, and clinical outcomes monitoring; and interactions with physicians, for patients with type 2 diabetes taking at least one oral antidiabetic medication in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. This is a prospective, multi-centered, observational, cohort study using a hybrid design to assess the patient support program. The evaluation includes three levels of analysis: (1) the implementation strategies, (2) the overall implementation process, and (3) the effectiveness of the program. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used, and outcomes are assessed at each stage of the implementation process: exploration, preparation, operation, and sustainability. This research project will provide key insights into the processes of implementing patient support programs on a large scale and adapting the traditional community pharmacy practices towards the delivery of person-centered and collaborative services.

Substantial interprofessional learning opportunities engaging with complex patients must be available to health professional students to prepare them with the necessary knowledge and experiences to function as competent care providers. In community learning experiences, interprofessional teams can target vulnerable populations who face ongoing health disparities to maximize health impact and reduce over utilization of resources such as emergency room visits. Patients from vulnerable populations often present in community settings with multiple comorbidities, which benefit from a team approach focusing on prevention and enhancing the quality of life. The planning team at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine implemented a real-world community-based clinical experience, incorporating learners from other colleges and universities, professionals from community health centers and patients from homeless shelters to facilitate interprofessional learning over a three-year period. These practical clinical experiences reinforced the communication and leadership skills that are part of the Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety or TeamSTEPPSTM evidence-based curriculum, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This guide outlines the steps and lessons learned, through incorporating team-based practice experiences for nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and social work students caring for vulnerable populations within community settings.

Transitions of care involve multifaceted considerations for patients, which can pose significant challenges if factors like oral health are overlooked when evaluating medication management. This article examines how oral health factors should be considered in medication management of patients who may be at risk for hospital readmission. This article also explores successes and challenges of a pharmacy consult service integrated into a dental clinic practice, and the opportunities within that setting to improve overall patient outcomes including those related to care transitions.

Background: A safe patient transition requires a complex set of physician skills within the interprofessional practice. Objective: To evaluate a rotation which applies self-reflection and workplace learning in a TRAnsition of CarE Rotation (TRACER) for internal medicine (IM) residents. TRACER is a 2-week required IM resident rotation where trainees join a ward team as a quality officer and follow patients into postacute care. Methods: In 2010, residents participated in semistructured, one-on-one interviews as part of ongoing program evaluation. They were asked what they had learned on TRACER, the year prior, and how they used those skills in their practice. Using transcripts, the authors reviewed and coded each transcript to develop themes. Results: Five themes emerged from a qualitative, grounded theory analysis: seeing things from the other side, the ‘ah ha’ moment of fragmented care, team collaboration including understanding nursing scope of practice in different settings, patient understanding, and passing the learning on. TRACER gives residents a moment to breathe and open their eyes to the interprofessional practice setting and the patient's experience of care in transition. Conclusions: Residents learn about transitions of care through self-reflection. This learning is sustained over time and is valued enough to teach to their junior colleagues.

Interprofessional teams of occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and dental hygiene students from the University of South Dakota participated in a service-learning experience in Guatemala. Student perceptions were measured using the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale and the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool. Qualitative data were obtained through written reflections and discussions during the immersion component of the service-learning experience. Students reported statistically significant improvements in transcultural self-efficacy as defined by their confidence in interviewing individuals from different cultures; their values, attitudes, and beliefs regarding cultural awareness, acceptance, appreciation, recognition, and advocacy; and their knowledge on how cultural factors influence care. Slightly different findings emerged concerning students’ attitudes about interprofessional practice. Qualitative analysis of personal reflections showed that many students felt purposeful when working as part of an interprofessional team and appreciated the dialogue with other professionals when discussing patient care.

Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) provide services to underserved populations while enhancing student education. Occupational therapy (OT) participation in integrated care SRFCs is an emerging area of practice and enhances the interprofessional model necessary for holistic patient care. The Student Health Outreach for Wellness (SHOW) organization, located in Phoenix, Arizona, is a SRFC comprised of three state universities that incorporates nine different health professional programs to deliver interprofessional care, including OT. The SHOW clinic provides direct care services where student volunteers practice clinical and interprofessional skills under the guidance of licensed health care providers. OT preceptors and students participate in team-based assessment and care delivery to practice their discipline-specific treatment knowledge of upper-extremity impairments, musculoskeletal pain, medication management, fall prevention, and behavioral health issues, among many others. OT integration into the clinic provides students and preceptors an opportunity to build a unique skill set in interprofessional care, educate other disciplines about OT, and become emerging leaders in the field. Challenges for OT involvement in this SRFC include recruitment and sustainability of volunteers and lack of knowledge and understanding about the role of OT on an interprofessional team. Further research is needed to identify additional benefits of OT services in SFRCs.

Introduction The ability to collaborate as a member of interprofessional teams is essential for patient care and a core competency for students in health professions education. We developed a yearlong course, the Interprofessional Clinical Experience (ICE), to introduce first-year medical students to team-based aspects of the health care environment and provide them with a foundation upon which later experiences can grow. Methods The course uses experiential learning and critical reflection through reflective writing to orient students to working with care teams. Students receive assessments from faculty and various health care professionals. The course requires students to describe the roles and responsibilities of a variety of health care professionals, utilize effective communication with other health professionals on health care teams, demonstrate the ability to work on an interprofessional team, and examine their own and others’ perspectives by engaging in self-directed learning and reflective practice. Results Annual course evaluations revealed that the majority of students agreed or strongly agreed that ICE contributed to their understanding of the health care team's roles and improved their ability to communicate with health care professionals, their understanding of health care systems, and their ability to work on an interprofessional team. The course also provides curricular content for the newly implemented Liaison Committee for Medical Education's accreditation requirement on interprofessional collaborative skills. Discussion The first implementation of this resource demonstrated that students met the educational objectives of the ICE and gained a better sense of the health care system and teams.

This project focused on a pilot project implemented during the 2013-2014 academic year. The overall purpose was to facilitate interprofessional collaborative practice innovations through the development of leadership, core competencies, and the use of technology, especially among nurses. Nursing, medicine, and physician assistant students were educated on the IOM competencies for interprofessional teams and the core competencies identified by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel [1] to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to practice in the collaborative practice environments. The project addressed four goals: Develop faculty expertise and leadership in interprofessional collaborative practice to provide a current, high quality education to nursing, physician assistant, and medical students; Implement a culturally responsive and respectful collaborative interprofessional practice curriculum to prepare nurses, physician assistants, and medical students to deliver high quality, efficient, team-based care in a dynamically evolving environment; Focus interprofessional collaborative practice education on models and practices that lead to improvement in patient outcomes; and Evaluate the program and disseminate best practices. Findings from this pilot include strategies to engage different health professions' students and faculty, partnering with community agencies, building an effective interprofessional team to guide the project, and seeking funding for extension and expansion of the offerings.

This project focused on a pilot project implemented during the 2013-2014 academic year. The overall purpose was to facilitate interprofessional collaborative practice innovations through the development of leadership, core competencies, and the use of technology, especially among nurses. Nursing, medicine, and physician assistant students were educated on the IOM competencies for interprofessional teams and the core competencies identified by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel [1] to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to practice in the collaborative practice environments. The project addressed four goals: Develop faculty expertise and leadership in interprofessional collaborative practice to provide a current, high quality education to nursing, physician assistant, and medical students; Implement a culturally responsive and respectful collaborative interprofessional practice curriculum to prepare nurses, physician assistants, and medical students to deliver high quality, efficient, team-based care in a dynamically evolving environment; Focus interprofessional collaborative practice education on models and practices that lead to improvement in patient outcomes; and Evaluate the program and disseminate best practices. Findings from this pilot include strategies to engage different health professions' students and faculty, partnering with community agencies, building an effective interprofessional team to guide the project, and seeking funding for extension and expansion of the offerings.

Healthcare practice is continuing to shift toward interprofessional team-based care to improve the patient experience and the health of populations as well as to reduce the per capita cost of healthcare (National Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education, 2013). In particular, high-risk pregnancy is a uniquely complex healthcare challenge, which makes team- and partnership-based care in this specialty essential (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Task Force on Collaborative Practice, 2016). Despite healthcare leaders in the United States recognizing the need for collaborative care models and team-based care, the training of healthcare professions students in the skills needed to collaborate effectively as part of an interprofessional team have lagged dramatically behind the changes in current healthcare practices (Interprofessional Education Collaborative [IPEC] Expert Panel, 2011; National Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education, 2015b). A Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) Student and a Women’s Health DNP Program faculty identified that there was an opportunity to implement interprofessional practice-focused immersion experiences for advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students at an academic Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center. The faculty and student partnership allowed for the project interventions to be integrated directly into an existing APRN practicum course. This project’s implementation provided an opportunity for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center to integrate APRN students into their clinical team, and demonstrated that interprofessional practice-focused immersion experiences are beneficial for students’ learning of how to collaborate effectively as part of an interprofessional team, which is congruent with the research. The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center embodied many of the components of the domains of interprofessional practice and qualities of a partnership-based system, making it an optimal site for interprofessional learning. This project’s positive results support a sustainable and unique partnership between the School of Nursing and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center to expand student opportunities as members of an interprofessional team in a high-risk obstetric care setting. Continued exposure of healthcare professions students to partnership-based healthcare settings like this center may help to shift systems toward the partnership paradigm.

Aim: Interprofessional education (IPE) is taking on increasing importance in our complex healthcare system and receiving ever greater attention in the teaching of health science. The majority of concepts and methods employed in this area are based on normative ideas about interprofessional cooperation and only seldom based on empirical research. This paper is an initial attempt to augment this deductive approach with an inductive perspective for the purpose of subsequently providing empirical support for IPE teaching methods.Method: Drawing on the qualitative approach to linguistic conversation analysis, language-based professional markers are identified on the basis of recorded classroom simulations with nursing and midwifery students; it is assumed that these markers are significant in relevant interprofessional communication processes and, as a result, influence actual collaboration between the health professions. These markers are classified and commented on, and their importance to teaching and practical implementation in interprofessional interaction is emphasized.Results: Students routinely use various professional markers in simulations. However, these occur much less frequently than initially expected, except when marking difference in relation to physicians. At the same time, all the interactions are shaped by pronounced self-presentation among the students, and this comprises a large aspect of the interactions observed here. Profession-specific communication and differentiation processes also appear to be slow in establishing themselves in terms of students delegating tasks or voicing expectations. In addition, the role of “student” has a function that should not be underestimated in these interactions.Conclusion: Professional markers are an essential component of interprofessional communication and are based on numerous, observable linguistic phenomena, of which only a few are presented here. This empirical approach has not yet appeared in the discourse surrounding IPE; however, it is, in the authors’ opinion, not only necessary to compare interprofessional interactions with lived reality, but also to be in a position to operationalize interprofessional practice and ultimately assign it to competency areas. For this reason, further empirical observations and analyses are needed to tighten the still unclear definition of interprofessional communication and to develop empirically founded, measurable criteria for teaching and testing.

Objective. To design and implement an international and interprofessional Global Learning Partnership Model, which involves shared learning between academics and students from Universitas 21 network with other universities with United Nations Millennium Development Goal needs. Design. Two literature reviews were conducted to inform ethical aspects and curriculum design of the GLP model. Feedback from conference presentations and consultation with experts in education and public health has been incorporated to inform the current iteration of the GLP model. Intervention. The pilot group of 25 students from U21 universities and Kathmandu University, representing six health disciplines will meet in Nepal in April 2016 for a shared learning experience, including a one week university based workshop and three week community based experience.Outcome measures. A multi-phase, mixed method design was selected for the evaluation of the GLP model, utilising a combination of focus groups and questionnaires to evaluate the efficacy of the placement through student experience and learning outcomes in cultural competency, UN SDG knowledge, community engagement and health promotion skills. Results. The literature review demonstrated that cultural awareness and cultural knowledge were improved through participation in cultural immersion programs that incorporated preparatory workshops and clinical experiences. Data will be gathered in April 2006 and the results of the evaluation will be published in the future. Conclusions. The GLP model proposes a project around the fundamental concept of engagement and sharing between students and academics across universities and cultural contexts to build capacity through education, while capitalising on strengths of existing global health placements. Further the inclusion of host-country students and academics in this learning exchange will promote the establishment of an international and interprofessional network for ongoing health promotion.

Abstract Introduction There is growing agreement that physician advocacy is important and is a part of medical professionalism. The specialty societies of internal medicine and pediatrics include advocacy as part of professional responsibilities, and it is currently becoming integrated in residency education and training. The purpose of this resource is to provide learners with an introduction to social determinants of health and patient advocacy. The elements of this multidimensional curriculum may be used together or separately based on the needs of the learners and the institutional resources available. Methods In a modified flipped-classroom approach, students are given readings to complete prior to small group sessions of 8 to 15 students. Students are expected to contribute to the learning occurring in the small group session through dialogue, discussion, and group project work. Students are then given assignments to apply the curriculum in outpatient, inpatient, and home care settings. Results Two medical school classes (approximately 180 students) have completed this curriculum at this time. We asked students to evaluate the effectiveness of this curriculum on their learning with a pre− and postcurricula self-assessment. Using a five-point Likert scale, students were asked to rate their skill level with each objective (1 = unfamiliar/never used it; 5 = use with ease). Students were given the same self-assessment before and after the coursework. Seventy-eight students responded to the precourse survey. Fifty students responded to the postcourse survey. Average reported skill level increased by at least 0.4 points for all skill levels. Notably, in the precourse survey, students rated their skill level lowest in identifying resources and collaborating for system change (2.3 and 2.0, respectively). These also were the skills that students rated themselves as most improved at (increase in 0.60 and 0.76 Likert points, respectively) on the postcourse survey. Discussion The purpose of this resource is to provide learners with an introduction to social determinants of health and patient advocacy. This curriculum has been implemented and evaluated for medical students, but it is broadly applicable to interprofessional students and residents in health-related fields. It includes an interprofessional practice component.

Background: There is limited understanding of the impact of Triple C competency-based curriculums on the preparation of residents for family practice. This paper describes a competency-based curriculum within an integrated longitudinal block design and presents preliminary evaluation data on the impact of this curriculum on preparedness for family practice. Methods: First and second year family medicine residents were surveyed as a component of a year-end program evaluation to assess the extent to which the residency program is preparing them to engage in a variety of practice domains, the likelihood that they would engage in these domains, and the extent to which this residency program is comprehensive, relevant to their development as a family physician, and promotes interprofessional practice. Results: Residents perceived themselves as prepared to engage in most practice areas and their intentions to engage in various practice domains were positively correlated to their ratings of preparedness. Ratings reflected that residents perceived this program as comprehensive and relevant to their development as a family physician and they perceived a high degree of encouragement for interprofessional practice. Conclusions: This study provides some preliminary evidence that an integrated competency-based curriculum, with an emphasis on interprofessional practice has the potential to effectively prepare residents for practice in family medicine.

Student researchers often struggle to understand how to use literature in a grounded theory study where timing and knowing what to read are critical. Despite substantive theoretical documentation on this topic the reality of working through abstract ideas is more challenging. There is a fine line between not doing a literature review in the area of study and being informed so that a study is focused. In this paper a practical example will be presented illustrating how the student can integrate literature yet stay away from preconceived notions. The topic is interprofessional practice.