Interprofessionalism: What Do Medical Students Gain from a Hospice Experience?

Purpose: To determine if participation in a half-day hospice visit enhances medical students’ understanding of the roles of hospice team members and the collaborative team approach. Background: The Perelman School of Medicine’s curriculum incorporates team training and learning by creating learning teams of 6-7 students who work together for all four years on educational experiences. Hospice is an example of a team collaborating to provide patient-centered care. The medical student hospice experience is an extension of this teamwork curriculum as part of the Aging Theme, using healthcare professionals who also rely on team-based care as teachers in a clinical setting. Description of Intervention or Program: During the Family Medicine Clerkship, all students participated in a half-day experience with a member of the hospice team. Students visited at least two patients with their hospice worker. Following the experience, the student was asked to write a short reflection in response to - What was the most meaningful part of the hospice experience? Results: Over one year, narratives were collected (N=120) and a random group (N=25) selected for initial coding and analysis. We applied the four Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Domains as a conceptual framework for theme review. Within the subgroup, students addressed Values/Ethics (6 times), Roles/Responsibilities (8), Communication (4), and Teams/Teamwork (5). A word search of all narratives identified the word “value/s” (3 times), “ethics” (0), “role/s” (22), “responsibility” (7), “communication” (4), “team” (76), and “teamwork” (1). Conclusions: Narrative analysis results confirm that medical students identify the roles of hospice team members, appreciate the collaborative team approach, and indicate that the hospice experience is a meaningful educational activity that facilitates interprofessional learning. Learning Objectives: 1. The student will be able to describe the role of a member of the hospice team as measured by reflective narrative responses. 2. The student will be able to recognize the key components of interprofessional collaborative practice in the hospice setting as measured by reflective narrative responses