The Long-Term Effects of an Interprofessional Education Dissection Course on Healthcare Professional Students

An intensive interprofessional gross anatomy dissection course was created in 2009 to facilitate interprofessional education (IPE) at McMaster University. First year students from Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy programs were randomly assigned into four interprofessional teams for this 10-week course. Previously, data was collected from 2011 to 2016 using a before/after design to measure differences in attitudes and perceptions towards IPE and collaboration using the revised Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), while focus group data elaborated on the student experience with the course. Pre- and post-matched data revealed significant improvements in positive professional identity, competency and autonomy, role clarity, and attitudes toward other health professions. Qualitative analysis of intraprofessional focus group interviews revealed meaningful improvements in a number ...