Evaluation of an Interprofessional Case Study Pilot Program with Nurse Practitioner Students and Dental Medicine Students

Background

Building on a previous IPE workshop where nurse practitioner (NP) students learned oral examination techniques from dental medicine (DM) students, faculty identified an opportunity to scaffold in a new learning activity in the Family NP/Adult Gerontology NP curriculum by incorporating a case study for the interprofessional groups of students to work through. These IPE activities address several nursing education competencies and dental education accreditation standards.

Methods

In a two-hour session, 25 second-year NP students and 15 third-year DM students were grouped to review intra-oral and extra-oral examination skills as demonstrated by the DM students. Each three-person interprofessional student group was provided a case scenario and eight questions to work through. Questions included both oral and systemic differential diagnoses, pain management, pharmacological side effects, patient education, follow up, scope of practice, and referral initiation taking into consideration patient financial resources.

Post-session, NP students completed the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS). The ICCAS is a validated pre-test, post-test survey given to students to evaluate IPE experiences in the domains of collaboration, communication, teamwork, conflict management, roles and responsibilities, and patient/family centered approach. Mean scores were calculated for each survey item.

Analysis

‘Before’ and ‘after’ scores were evaluated using paired t-tests to examine overall change for all NP learners in the program. Individual item analysis and factor analysis by domain was completed for responses.

Results

ICCAS mean scores improved significantly (mean change= 0.99; t= .98; p=0.00) across all respondents. All NP students reported a statistically significant improvement of interprofessional skill across all items and domains.

Conclusions

The evaluation of this IPE pilot program showed significant increases in participants’ ability to perform interprofessional skills and collaborate with another profession. This activity demonstrates that IPE activities using case studies can enhance curricular delivery and build foundational partnerships with the goal of improved care delivery across professions.

References

Archibald, D., Trumpower, D., and MacDonald, C.J. (2014). Validation of the interprofessional collaborative competency attainment survey (ICCAS). Journal of Interprofessional Care 28: 553-558.

Estes, K.R., Callanan, D., Rai, N., Plunkett, K., Brunson, D., and Tiwari, T. (2018). Evaluation of an Interprofessional Oral Health Assessment Activity in Advanced Practice Nursing Education. Journal of Dental Education, 82 (10) 1084-1090; DOI: https://doi.org/10.21815/JDE.018.103