An Examination of Pre-major Health Student\u27s Readiness for Interprofessional Education at a Technical College

Interprofessional education (IPE) can be defined as knowledge gained when two or more professionals (or students) learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (World Health Organization, 2010). The ultimate goal of IPE is to improve patient care outcomes through the promotion of teamwork, and through collaboration between various healthcare professionals. The current literature supports the notion that the concept of IPE should be initiated as early in the educational process as possible, and sustained throughout a student’s education. This study examined a group of early career health sciences students at a local technical college. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Results showed significant increases in participants’ perceived readiness to enter the profession from pretest to posttest, although these could not be attributed to the intervention; and results showed generally low levels of participants’ knowledge surrounding IPE