Effectiveness of an interprofessional education model to influence students' perceptions on interdisciplinary work

Background: To prepare students adequately for the workplace, training on interprofessional practice should be included in the curricula of future health professionals. This study evaluated the effect of an interprofessional education session on undergraduate students' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration. Methods: A total of 225 medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, and nutrition and dietetics students were randomized to either an intervention (working together interprofessionally, n = 111) or control group (working together with their own profession, n = 114). Pre- and posttest assessment was performed with an adapted version of the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale. Results: A statistically significant improvement in attitude for Perception of Competence Own Profession (0.82, p = .008) and Perception of Actual Cooperation (1.10, p = .004) was found for students in the intervention group compared with students in the control group. Conclusion: Interprofessional education sessions were likely to be effective on undergraduate students' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration