Interprofessional Learning: the Attitudes of Medical, Nursing and Pharmacy Students to Shared Learning at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Current evidence supports the idea of including interprofessional learning (IPL) in healthcare students curriculum. Thereby, shared learning at an undergraduate level has been supported as an interprofessional initiative in healthcare education. The aim of this research was to determine the attitudes of nursing, pharmacy and medical students studying in the clerkship phase toward IPL and shared learning at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. We applied the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire consisted of 19 item scale and three subscales, labeled by the original researchers as team work and collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibility to assess the readiness of the students in interactive engaging with other students and shared learning. The RIPLS was delivered to 150 fourth year medical, nursing and pharmacy students within clerkship phase. SPSS software was used to save and analyzed the data. The Chi-square test was performed to assess the possible differences between groups. One hundred and thirty students returned the questionnaires and therefore the response rate was 86%. The majority of TUMS students reported positive attitudes toward shared learning. The benefits of shared learning including the acquisition of team working skills were recognized to be beneficial in patient care and likely to enhance professional working relations. However, professional groups did not show any significant difference in the perceived outcomes of shared learning. The results of this study indicated that there was willingness and a need to share knowledge and skills with other undergraduates as a way of resolving clinical problems at TUMS. Thus, implementing shared learning programs could promote the quality of provided patient care via increasing the teamwork and communication skills of the undergraduate students.