The oral health examination is proposed to be essential to medical education and a Healthy People 2020 indicator, though not routinely taught. The schools of medicine and dentistry implemented the Head, Ears, Nose, Oral health, Throat (HENOT) and Cranial Nerve (CN) Interprofessional Education (IPE) Activity with the aim to assess medical and dental student perceptions of the effectiveness of an IPE experience and attitudes toward integrating oral and cranial nerve examinations into the healthcare curriculum.
Teams of medical and dental students completed online pre-activities and participated in an interactive didactic session. They then taught and learned the HENOT and CN examinations in a clinical laboratory. A focus group followed with prompts focused on Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competencies of Team/Teamwork, Interprofessional Communication, Roles/Responsibilities, Values/Ethics. Responses were grouped into themes. The IPEC Competency Self-Assessment instrument was distributed to all participants. Attitudes were measured by retrospective pretest-posttest design. Aggregate pre- and post-activity mean overall and mean subscale scores were compared using the paired samples t test. Cohen's d was calculated for effect size.
Cronbach's alpha overall was strong (0.96) with a significant overall score increase after participating in the IPE activity. This change was reflected in both subscales. The thematic analysis identified themes within all four IPEC Competencies.
IPE is critical to acquire skills necessary to work in a collaborative healthcare team, though there is not an established ideal model for incorporating IPE to optimize the clinical learning environment. Self-assessment scores reveal interprofessional interactions and values domains increased significantly after this activity. Thematic analysis further emphasized the impact of the IPE activity on participating students. These results will further improve the IPE culture at UT Health San Antonio, building a sustainable collaboration amongst healthcare providers.
Funding was provided by Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC) Seed Grants, UT Health San Antonio.
Disclosures:
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support, adopted by the Joint Accreditors for Interprofessional Continuing Education, the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education has a conflict of interest policy that requires that all individuals involved in the development of activity content disclose their relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. All potential conflicts of interest that arise based upon these financial relationships are resolved prior to the educational activity.
Adelita Cantu, Rebekah Salt, Sadie Trammell Velasquez, David Ojeda Diaz, Diane Ferguson, Debbie Chang, Jeff Jackson, Cristina Grijalva, Stephanie de Sam Lazaro, Adele Della Torre, Jayne-Marie Raponi, Amy Blue, Kiran Lukose, Kelly Lockeman, Tina Gunaldo, Sharon Lanning, Michelle McGregor, Jessica Owens
declare no vested interest in or affiliation with any commercial interest offering financial support for this interprofessional continuing education activity, or any affiliation with a commercial interest whose philosophy could potentially bias their presentation.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
