Purpose: The American Medical Association identifies Interprofessional Collaboration as a core competency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, novel approaches were necessary to provide patient-facing, interprofessional contact for students while maintaining social distancing. We describe early findings from Stay Home, Stay Connected (SHSC): an interprofessional service-learning program connecting students and pregnant patients.
Background: Medical, social work, and midwife students collaborated in a robust psychosocial support program for pregnant patients: SHSC. Working closely with physicians, midwives, social workers and community members, students facilitated weekly virtual discussion groups and workshops.
Methods: To assess the impact of this program on IPE, we surveyed student participants regarding 1) prevalence of interprofessional partnership 2) satisfaction with interprofessional collaboration (5-point Likert Scale, 1= extremely dissatisfied, 5= extremely satisfied); and 3) self-perceived interprofessional competency (as outlined by AMA) before and after (5-point Likert Scale 1= not confident 5= very confident). Responses were tabulated using descriptive statistics.
Results: Of the 24 student participants, 20 (83.3%) responded (medical: 9/20, 45%; nurse-midwifery: 4/20, 20%; social work: 7/20, 35%). Most respondents (12/20, 60%) reported interprofessional partnership with a student from a different program, and 35% (7/20) reported partnership with an interprofessional provider. Students reported high satisfaction with interprofessional partnership (4.0, SD 0.9). There were significant improvements in self-reported competencies, including collaboration with interprofessional healthcare providers (before: 4.0, after: 4.5, p< 0.05).
Discussions: SHSC provided novel opportunities for interprofessional collaboration among medical, social work, and nurse-midwife students and professionals. As telemedicine continues beyond the pandemic, virtual service learning is a promising tool to improve IPE competencies and provide unique approaches to interdisciplinary teamwork.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Student, Resident, Osteopathic Faculty, Residency Director, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, GME, CME, Virtual Patient, Team-Based Learning, Public Health,
Kelsey Carman, BA, MPH, University of Michigan; Annie Minns, BS; Jonathan Siden, BSW, BA; Monica Choo, BS; Chloe Ramirez Biermann, BA; Alex Peahl, MD, MSc
