title: Self-efficacy perceptions of interprofessional education and practice in undergraduate healthcare students.
abstract: Self-efficacy is an individual's perception of their ability to be successful in a given endeavour and it has been shown to have an important role in successful university education and clinical performance of healthcare workers. This article examines the self-efficacy beliefs of undergraduate healthcare students (n = 388) for the skills required for interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration. The students were enrolled at an Australian university from the disciplines of public health, social work, and paramedic practice. The Self-Efficacy for Interprofessional Experiential Learning (SEIEL) scale, which is a valid and reliable scale, was used to determine the self-reported perceptions of self-efficacy in this cohort. The 16-item scale was developed for use with medicine and other healthcare professional undergraduate students. Student t-tests were used to compare scores between males and females, with one-way ANOVAs used to explore SEIEL scores across disciplines and year level. A significant difference was found between genders for the scores on SEIEL subscale 2 "Interprofessional evaluation and feedback" (p = 0.01) with the male mean being 2.65 units higher (Cohen's d = 0.29). There was also a significant gender difference for the overall SEIEL scale (p = 0.029) with the male mean being 4.1 units higher (Cohen's d = 0.238). No significant gender differences were demonstrated for the subscale "Interprofessional interaction." Neither subscale demonstrated significant differences between healthcare disciplines or course year. Further investigation is required to explore the reasons for the outcomes of this study. With the increasing importance of interprofessional education and practice within healthcare, it would also appear reasonable to consider further research into the development and support of student self-efficacy for the skills required for interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration within healthcare curricula.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: a Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.
authors.forename: Bronwyn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beovich
authors.affiliation: a Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: b Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: c Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine , Monash University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.
authors.forename: Dragan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ilic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012737:Sex Factors; D012947:Social Work / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Healthcare students; interprofessional education; interprofessional practice; questionnaire designs; self-efficacy