Pathways to Health Professions

Abstract

Background

Interprofessional Education (IPE) is essential for fostering collaboration and communication among healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes. Early IPE training for pre-health undergraduate students has been shown to enhance teamwork, dismantle stereotypes, and build self-efficacy in healthcare settings. Self-efficacy is the belief that one can achieve their goals and succeed at tasks. These outcomes contribute to creating a cohesive and equitable healthcare environment focused on patient-centered care. Despite evidence supporting the benefits of IPE training, there is a lack of consistent implementation at the undergraduate level across institutions.

Objective

Programs that have adopted IPE have demonstrated improved student preparedness, better interprofessional collaboration, and enhanced patient care outcomes. Our study addresses this gap in undergraduate IPE by examining the impact of a structured IPE training program, Pathway to Health Professions, designed for pre-health ECU undergraduate students who are members of ‘Buff in Scrubs’, an ECU organization.

Methods

Our study employs a mixed-methods approach, including retrospective surveys and open-ended questions, to assess changes in participants' attitudes, skills, and competencies pre-and post-trainings. Data will be collected from January 2025 to April 2025.

Results

We hypothesize that early and structured exposure to IPE training will significantly enhance pre-health undergraduate students' confidence, understanding of interprofessional roles, and ability to collaborate effectively. By focusing on self-efficacy-based skills, we hope to equip pre-health students with critical collaboration and communication skills early in their education. We expect improvements in participants’ perceived preparedness for advanced healthcare education and patient-centered care.

By improving perceived preparedness, we aim to also increase students’ self-efficacy and preparedness for graduate school applications. Our undergraduate IPE program, Pathway to Health Professions, seeks to bridge the gap in IPE implementation at the undergraduate level. We aim to prepare future healthcare professionals to contribute to cohesive teams and improve patient outcomes. This work underscores the need for broader adoption of IPE training in undergraduate education to enhance healthcare collaboration and equity.