Interprofessional Education: Medical and Dental Hygiene Student Competencies During the Delivery of Patient Care

Purpose: Interprofessional education (IPE) helps prepare health care students for collaborative delivery of patient care. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate changes in self-perceived collaborative competencies of dental hygiene and medical students after a live patient care IPE experience. Methods: Dental hygiene (n=23) and medical students (n=26) were paired for a single-encounter IPE experience with adult patients. Following the collaboration, participants completed the 20-item, seven-point Likert scale retrospective pre-test/post-test Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) to assess changes in perceived collaborative competencies as a result of the IPE experience. Participants reflected on current and prior self-perceived interprofessional collaborative competence in the areas of communication, collaboration, roles and responsibilities, collaborative patient/family-centered approach, conflict management/resolution, and team functioning. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: All participants (n=49) completed the IPE survey for a response rate of 100%. Pre-test mean scores ranged from M=5.40, SD=.46 to M=6.31, SD=1.23 and post-test scores ranged from M=6.09, SD=.46 to M=6.72, SD=.86 for all participants. All paired item mean score differences were statistically significant (p≤.05) indicating increased self-reported collaborative competence. Conclusions: A live patient care IPE experience created a positive perception of collaborative competence among medical and dental hygiene student participants. Dental hygiene curricula should include IPE, including live patient experiences to foster students’ collaborative competence and preparation for interprofessional collaboration in the workplace