Abstract

Nurses elevate your expertise beyond the bedside!

Author(s): Lakel Ebb

Inter-professional education is defined as is those occasions when members (or students) of two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care. Stereotyped attitudes can prevent effective interprofessional collaboration and teamwork that began at undergraduate level. Purpose: To formulate a decision about the effectiveness IPE in transforming the Omani nursing students’ attitudes toward the teamwork in nursing education in Oman by reviewing available evidence. Objective: To examine the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students toward teamwork & collaboration. To explore the factors influence attitudes towards inter-professional teamwork and collaboration. Design: Systematic review approach of quantitative researches including 8 studies from five databases (CINAHL, BNI, ASSIA, Medline and Web of Knowledge) from 2005-2011. Methodology: Critical appraisal using the Joanna Briggs Institute modified observational was done to examine the quality of studies. Inclusion: Studies with two or more undergraduate health care professionals, one being a nursing student, all the nursing branches. Effectiveness of IPE in the formal educational institution and curriculum in classroom. Using valid tools, which assess the nursing students’ attitude, towards the teamwork competency and collaboration. Exclusion: IPE in a clinical placement or were part of IP clinical competencies. Results: IPE in the classroom was effective in changing attitudes of undergraduate students since positive attitudes were reported towards teamwork and collaboration in: Improved teamwork knowledge, developed teamwork skill, and enhanced relationships with other professionals. Main factors influencing attitudes were the characteristics of participating students in an IPE intervention such as: Gender (96% female-dominant), previous teamwork experience, age (mean age: 20 and 23.7), Programme level and type of IPE teaching methods. Conclusion: IPE is considered a complex intervention to evaluate that requires comprehensive rigorous research, which require a control group to allow for comparison between different educational interventions.