title: Interprofessional training enhances collaboration between nursing and medical students: A pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Effective collaboration among healthcare providers is an essential component of high-quality patient care. Interprofessional education is foundational to ensuring that students are prepared to engage in optimal collaboration once they enter clinical practice particularly in the care of complex geriatric patients undergoing surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  To enhance interprofessional education between nursing students and medical students in a clinical environment, we modeled the desired behavior and skills needed for interprofessional preoperative geriatric assessment for students, then provided an opportunity for students to practice skills in nurse/physician pairs on standardized patients. This experience culminated with students performing skills independently in a clinic setting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine nursing students and six medical students completed the pilot project. At baseline and after the final clinic visit we administered a ten question geriatric assessment test. Post-test scores (M=90.33, SD=11.09) were significantly higher than pre-test scores (M=72.33, SD=12.66, t(14)=-4.50, p<0.001. Nursing student post-test scores improved a mean of 22.0 points and medical students a mean of 11.7 points over pre-test scores. Analysis of observational notes provided evidence of interprofessional education skills in the themes of shared problem solving, conflict resolution, recognition of patient needs, shared decision making, knowledge and development of one's professional role, communication, transfer of interprofessional learning, and identification of learning needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having nursing and medical students "learn about, from and with each other" while conducting a preoperative geriatric assessment offered a unique collaborative educational experience for students that better prepares them to integrate into interdisciplinary clinic teams.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Department of Surgery, Box 800709, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: fet7q@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Florence E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Turrentine
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, McLeod Hall 4012, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: kmr5q@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Department of Surgery, Box 800709, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: jbh@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hanks
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, McLeod Hall 4012, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: bl7k@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Breyette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorntz
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, McLeod Hall 4012, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: jao2b@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, McLeod Hall 4012, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: vlb2z@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Valentina L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Brashers
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Emily Couric Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States. Electronic address: eer2x@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Erika E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Ramsdale
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016544:Patient Simulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013337:Students, Medical; D013338:Students, Nursing