Promoting interprofessional education in surgery: development and evaluation of a clinical curriculum

Abstract Purpose Interprofessional collaboration is essential in surgery, but health professions students have limited opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) during training in authentic patient-care settings. This report describes the development and evaluation of a clinical interprofessional elective in otolaryngology for medical (MD) and nurse practitioner (NP) students. Methods MD and NP students were paired together on an inpatient otolaryngology consult service for one- or two-week rotations designed to promote interprofessional learning objectives. Students worked with different professions essential to the care of patients with voice, airway, and swallowing conditions, including surgeons, advanced practice providers, speech-language pathologists, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Students completed written daily reflections about their experiences and pre- and post-rotation surveys to assess comfort with course learning objectives. Paired t -tests and Cohen’s d effect sizes were used to compare pre/post responses, and thematic analysis was used to analyze all narrative data. Results Fourteen students (8 MD, 6 NP) students completed the rotation. All participants reported significant improvements on all learning objectives ( p < 0.05) with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d range: 1.2–2.9), including their understanding of the responsibilities of each interprofessional team member. Participants described three overarching themes that characterized their learning experiences and supported the learning objectives: appreciation for interprofessional patient care, benefits of learning with an interprofessional peer, and clinician role modeling of effective interprofessional communication. Conclusions IPE can be successfully integrated into a clinical surgical rotation and enhance students’ understanding of the benefits of and strategies for effective interprofessional collaboration. The elective can serve as a model for IPE rotations in other surgical subspecialties and be extended to include students across the continuum of health professions education.