The role perception questionnaire (RPQ): a tool for assessing undergraduate students’ perceptions of the role of other professions

A systematic review of interprofessional education (Freeth et al., 2002) revealed that there were many weaknesses in the current body of knowledge of interprofessional education outcomes. One reason for this was the lack of good quality study designs for evaluating the outcomes ofinterprofessional education. This paper discusses the range of tools that were found in the literature and describes the production and validation of two questionnaires that can be used as part of an interprofessional evaluation strategy. Firstly, a Generic Role Perception Questionnaire which can be used for measuring the perception of the role of a range of professions and a Nursing Role Perception Questionnaire used specifically for measuring the perception of the role of a nurse. Repertory grid technique was selected to elicit constructs from a multiprofessional group of final year undergraduate students. This pool was then used to develop the two questionnaires. Factor analysis, internalconsistency and test re-test measures are used along with evidence of validity. The questionnaires were found to have acceptable validity and reliability and could be used as part of an IPE evaluation strategy to measure changes in professional role perception in an undergraduate population