title: An interprofessional workshop for students to improve communication and collaboration skills in end-of-life care.
abstract: Interprofessional care is critical for patients at the end of life (EOL), but programs to teach communication skills to medical and nursing students are rare. The aims of this study were to determine whether an interprofessional workshop improves (1) student attitudes toward teamwork and (2) self-efficacy for communicating in difficult situations. Nursing and medical students attended a workshop with collaborative role play of an EOL conversation. Before the workshop, students showed different attitudes toward teamwork and collaboration and varying levels of confidence about communication skills. After the workshop, both groups reported more positive attitudes toward teamwork but a mixed picture of confidence in communication. Experiential interprofessional education workshops enhance perceptions about the benefits of teamwork, but further teaching and evaluation methods are needed to maximize the effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing, Milwaukee, WI, USA ericksoj@uwm.edu.
authors.forename: Jeanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia School of Medicine, Section of General Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blackhall
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brashers
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Nikole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Varhegyi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical; D013338:Students, Nursing; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: collaboration; communication; end-of-life care; interprofessional education