Assessing interprofessional education collaborative competencies in service-learning course

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the effect of an interprofessional service-learning course on health professions students’ self-assessment of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies. Design. The semester-long elective course consisted of two components: a service component where students provided patient care in an interprofessional student-run free clinic and bi-weekly workshops in which students reflected on their experiences and discussed roles, team dynamics, communication skills, and challenges with underserved patient populations. Assessment. All fifteen students enrolled in the course completed a validated 42-question survey in a retrospective post-then-pre design. The survey instrument assessed IPEC competencies in four domains: Values and Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. Students’ self-assessment of IPEC competencies significantly improved in all four domains after completion of the course. Conclusion. Completing an interprofessional service-learning course had a positive effect on students’ self-assessment of interprofessional competencies, suggesting service-learning is an effective pedagogical platform for interprofessional education.