Leading Through Evidence: Strategies to Implement Interprofessional Education (IPE) in Nursing

Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate the need to lead through evidence in developing strategies to facilitate faculty development and increase readiness and confidence to engage in IPE activities. Background: There is a growing demand for the provision of interprofessional education (IPE) to health sciences students. The literature outlines the positive outcomes of collaborative practice and the efficiency of IPE to address complex global health issues. For nursing students, IPE contributes to decision-making skills, positive professional attitudes, and communication skills. Growing evidence outlines the benefits of IPE in health education, yet persistent barriers continue to impede the implementation of IPE into nursing and health sciences curricula. Few studies have focused on the operationalization of IPE in curriculum and pedagogical activities. Inherent in this process is the need to develop an understanding of the faculty’s experiences with, perspectives of, attitudes and readiness for implementing IPE. The presentation focuses on presenting the findings of a cross-sectional survey collected among a group of nursing faculty members. The objectives of the study were to explore and understand faculty members’ knowledge, skills, perceptions, and needs related to interprofessional education. Two research questions guided the study: 1) What are the needs of faculty regarding IPE? And 2) What are the facilitators and barriers to implement IPE? Methodology: With ethics approval, an online survey was administered to a sample of convenience across five geographical sites. The survey was conducted from June to August 2013 with a recall two weeks after sending the online invitation. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality were attended. Twenty faculty out of 53 participated in the survey for a response rate of 35%. The survey included 62 items derived from validated and reliable instruments such as McFayden, Maclaren, and Webster’s Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (2007) and the National Competency Framework (2010). Experts in IPE and education reviewed the items to ensure content validity. Three open-ended questions were included in the survey for participants to expand their responses. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric correlation analyses were used to explore associations between age, years of practice, the level of education, years of teaching, attitudes, and knowledge and readiness for IPE. Results: Results indicate a willingness of implementing interprofessional education within teaching activities. Lack of time, knowledge deficit, different level of skills related to interprofessional education, a lack of organizational support and workload impact on readiness to implement interprofessional education. An in-depth discussion of the results and evidence-based recommendations to address barriers to IPE will be provided. This presentation fits with the conference as IPE represents a competency necessary to change the health care and a means to address global health issues.