title: Design and evaluation of a prelicensure interprofessional course on improving care transitions.
abstract: Effective management of care transitions for older adults require the coordinated expertise of an interprofessional team. Unfortunately, different health care professions are rarely educated together or trained in teamwork skills. To address this issue, a team of professionally diverse faculty from the Duke University Geriatric Education Center designed an interprofessional course focused on improving transitions of care for older adults. This innovative prelicensure course provided interactive teaching sessions designed to promote critical thinking and foster effective communication among health care professionals, caregivers, and patients. Students were assessed by in-class and online participation, performance on individual assignments, and team-based proposals to improve care transitions for older patients with congestive heart failure. Twenty students representing six professions completed the course; 18 completed all self-efficacy and course evaluation surveys. Students rated their self-efficacy in several domains before and after the course and reported gains in teamwork skills (p < .001), transitions of care (p < .001), quality improvement (p < .001) and cultural competence (p < .001). Learner feedback emphasized the importance of enthusiastic and well-prepared faculty, interactive learning experiences, and engagement in relevant work. This course offers a promising approach to shifting the paradigm of health professions education to empower graduates to promote quality improvement through team-based care.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine , Duke University School of Medicine; Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development; and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Mitchell T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Heflin
authors.forename: Sandro O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.forename: Emily O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Egerton
authors.forename: Deirdre K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Thornlow
authors.forename: Heidi K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Eleanor J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: McConnell
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D054521:Cultural Competency / Q000193:education; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007858:Learning; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014495:Universities