Interprofessional socialization: a concept analysis

Abstract

We report a concept analysis of the term interprofessional socialization, conducted using the Walker and Avant approach. Our literature search resulted in 27 publications with meaningful insights regarding interprofessional socialization, published between 1994–2022. We identified five defining attributes of interprofessional socialization: (a) learning about other professionals and the roles they play on interprofessional teams, (b) recognizing the value of collaborating with other professionals, (c) identifying a common goal shared across professions, (d) breaking down barriers between professional silos, and (e) developing dual identity: a professional identity and an interprofessional identity. We identified antecedents, consequences, empirical referents, and cases to better illustrate the concept. Insights from this concept analysis provided the foundation for a conceptual definition. Interprofessional socialization is an iterative process in which members from different professions come together to learn about and value each other’s perspectives and contributions, while dispelling misconceptions and prejudices, continuously working toward formation of a dual identity: one for professional identity and one for interprofessional identity. Future research is needed to explore how interprofessional socialization changes over the course of a career and how efforts to increase interprofessional socialization across healthcare settings might impact interprofessional initiatives throughout healthcare systems.