Abstract
Purpose: Interprofessional education (IPE) is critical to developing skills necessary for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP). Although much IPE research focuses on competence as an outcome, little research examines learner confidence in competence, which is likely to translate didactic knowledge into application of clinical skills. The current study aimed to assess student levels of confidence in skill competence related to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies. Methods: Students from multiple health professions programs (nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, graduate psychology), graduate biology, and undergraduate programs participated in the study (N=188). The Interprofessional Education Evaluation of Confidence (IPEEC) Scale, based on the IPEC core competencies, was developed and used for the study. Participants completed the scale prior to any IPE curricular instruction and after each event (total of three administrations: pre-, post-1, and post-2). Repeated measure Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), univariate repeated measures Analysis of Variance tests (ANOVAs), and post hoc analyses were completed. Subscale scores were computed for all four IPEC domains as measured by the IPEEC. Results: Repeated measures MANOVA results revealed a significant effect of event. All items increased significantly from pre- to post-1 and the majority increased significantly from post-1 to post-2. Univariate repeated measures ANOVAs were computed for each of the four subscales, with all four ANOVAS showing statistically significant differences. Mean scores increased across all three event periods. Tukey’s post hoc analyses revealed that mean scores increased significantly from pre- to post-1 for all four subscales and from post-1 to post-2 for all subscales except communication. There were no gender differences nor differences between professions. Conclusions: Results indicate participants’ increased confidence after participating in the IPE curriculum as measured by the IPEEC scale. Given that confidence increases with knowledge and skill performance, data suggests the IPEEC is effective at measuring confidence in performance of IPEC core competencies, which may ultimately lead to increased IPCP in the clinical realm and improvement in patient outcomes
Recommended Citation
Brown NE, Goreczny AJ, Schirato N, Schreiber J, Jameson S, Braun T, et al. Interprofessional Education Confidence in Health Professions Education Assessment: Are Learners Ready for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice?. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2025 Jun 30;23(3), Article 6.
