Interprofessional reflective practice to improve pediatric healthcare outcomes

ABSTRACT There is limited research on the combined concepts of interprofessional reflective practice on healthcare outcomes. This research sought to better understand the concepts of interprofessional and reflective practice when utilized together to assess provider perception of improved healthcare outcomes in a pediatric setting. This article explores these concepts while also contributing to the body of knowledge for pediatric healthcare providers and quality improvement (QI) practices. After completion of a reflective QI project, 50 pediatric providers including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians were surveyed utilizing the reflective practice questionnaire (RPQ) along with other QI relevant healthcare data points. The results of this research demonstrated that interprofessional providers perceived the reflective project beneficial to improve their care to the pediatric population. These perceptions were consistent with the sister QI project that revealed significant improvements in care, thus validating the perceptions of the providers. Furthermore, provider participants demonstrated statistically significant overall satisfaction with an interprofessional reflective process. Many strides have been made utilizing both concepts in the educational preparation of healthcare providers with intentions to improve healthcare outcomes. This research supports the concept that pediatric healthcare outcomes may be improved through interprofessional reflective practice.