Reinvigorating Engagement and Collaboration through Interprofessional Education (RECIPE) in nursing and public health students

Abstract

An interprofessional education (IPE) activity was piloted in an undergraduate Research Methods course with sophomore nursing and public health students. Students worked in small mixed groups mentored by course professors to critique a research article. The study aims to evaluate the IPE effectiveness in promoting students’ readiness for IPE, and facilitating students’ learning, critical thinking, and communication. Online survey with the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was administered to nursing and public health students pre- and post-IPE activity implementation. Nursing students’ evaluation of the research critique assignment was compared with other nursing course sections. The study found that nursing students rated IPE better in facilitating critical thinking and communication than one previous class section without an IPE component. Students’ qualitative comments suggested that future IPE will benefit from smaller groups, more even distribution of students from different disciplines, more shared faculty lectures, and integrating interactive group discussions.