Impact of interprofessional education on the attitudes and clinical skills of medical and nursing students: A quasiexperimental study

Abstract

Background & Objective: Interprofessional education is widely recognized as a fundamental approach for fostering collaborative teamwork and enhancing healthcare delivery. This study examined the impact of an interprofessional education program on the attitudes and clinical skills of medical and nursing students in surgery wards. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental study used a single group, pre-and post-test design. Ten 3-hour Interprofessional education sessions were held in the surgery ward for 10 small groups of medical and nursing students (n = 42). Pretests and posttests were administered using a checklist to evaluate the students' clinical skills in dressing replacement. Furthermore, the attitudes of both groups of students toward interprofessional education were assessed with a valid and reliable questionnaire following the educational intervention. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using chi-square, t-test, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: A significant difference was observed in the mean scores for dressing replacement skills between medical and nursing students before and after the intervention (p < 0.001). The Mann-Whitney U test indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean scores for attitudes in the two domains of interaction-orientedness (p = 0.733) and professional compliance (p = 0.764). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that interprofessional education can effectively enhance the clinical skills of both medical and nursing students, thereby promoting better patient care. It is crucial to foster a positive attitude among learners and educators through training programs to maximize the effectiveness of interprofessional education.