[Evaluation of the "interprofessional late shift" as elective subject in emergency medicine for medical students: a pilot study].

Abstract

Background: Interprofessional teaching courses are generally considered useful but have rarely been implemented in German medical education curricula to date.

Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether the newly planned teaching course "interprofessional late shift" improves students' attitudes towards interprofessional work and whether this can be further optimized by a short intervention at the beginning of the course.

Material and methods: The quantitative assessment involved students completing the "international socialization and valuing scale-9" (ISVS-9), the "University of the West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire German" (UWE-IP-D) (only the "communication and teamwork" dimension) and the scale for general self-efficacy expectations (SWE) before and after the course. In addition, a brief assessment of the personality was carried out before the event using the Big Five Inventory-10.

Results: This pilot study was conducted over two semesters. Questionnaires were completed by 30 students. The ISVS‑9 total scores increased in both groups (p = 0.011); however, a significant difference in the increase between the intervention and control groups could not be determined (p = 0.98). The total scores of the UWE-IP‑D decreased significantly (p = 0.002), which indicates an improvement in communication skills. Analyses of the influence of the personality showed a significant correlation between the increase in self-efficacy, neuroticism (p = 0.018) and agreeableness (p = 0.044).

Conclusion: The results of the pilot study clearly show that the newly planned teaching course "interprofesional late shift" could be an effective tool for enhancing medical students' appreciation of interprofessional collaboration; however, the appreciation could not be additionally improved by a short intervention at the beginning of the course.