Preparing 21st Century Counselors and Healthcare Professionals: Examining Technology Competency and Interprofessional Education Comfort

Healthcare professionals are expected to work in interprofessional teams while also communicating distantly with these team members through telehealth platforms to improve patient care. This study sought to understand how comfort with technology, interprofessional education, and collaboration was perceived by graduate students in counseling, dental hygiene, nursing, and physical therapy. A quantitative investigation with N=111 students resulted in comfort with technology among all groups but there were significant differences among the allied health professions regarding positive professional identity and willingness to engage in teamwork and collaboration. The data revealed that both preparation, rationale for interprofessional work, and placement of interprofessional training in curricula might improve interprofessional training in these health professions