Interprofessional Education Delivery for OT and PA Students and Outcomes Using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS)
Authors:
Margaret Morris, OTD, OTR/L, BCP; Rayne Loder, MHS, PA-C; Ryan Whitney, OTD, OTR/L, MA; Beth Buyea, DHSc, PA-C & Michael Otte, MS, PA-C
Abstract:
Interprofessional education (IPE) simulates practice for students in health careers, promotes a collaborative team approach, and is critical to the provision of client-centered (patient-centered) care. Knowledge of the role and scope of practice of various professions is critical for effective collaboration and patient/client outcomes (Leveille et al, 2020). Occupational therapy (OT) student participation on interprofessional student teams increases the perceived understanding of occupational therapy’s scope of practice by other health professions (Leveille et al, 2020). Occupational therapy programs cover a range of adult and pediatric disabilities; however, a recent survey of Midwest physician assistant (PA) programs revealed 60% do not provide robust coverage of disabilities, including pediatrics (Roux et al, 2022). 85 students (49 PA, 36 OT) participated in a 2.5-hr IPE session that included histories of the professions, small group student introductions, joint clinical reasoning in one case modeled by faculty, and groups of PA/OT students working on a second case with prompts for scaffolding. A pediatric case-based IPE highlighted issues unique to pediatrics. The Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS) was completed by students before and after with analysis of survey responses evaluated for differences in results before and after the event and between disciplines. 177 total responses divided into 4 groups for data analysis: PA students pre-event (n =54), OT students pre-event (n = 37), PA students post-event (n = 53), and OT students post even (n = 33). One-way ANOVA testing demonstrated statistically significant differences in group means among all 20 survey questions with large effect sizes. Post-hoc Bonferroni correction demonstrated significant differences in mean survey scores for all students for all 20 questions when comparing pre-and post-event scores. There were no significant differences in results between disciplines.
Key Words:
Interprofessional education, occupational therapy, physician assistant