The perceptions and readiness toward interprofessional education among female undergraduate health-care students at King Saud University

Abstract

[Purpose] Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important academic approach for preparing health-care professionals to provide patient care in a collaborative team environment. This study aimed to measure the perceptions and readiness toward IPE among female undergraduate health-care students at King Saud University (KSU). [Subjects and Methods] A cross-sectional study carried out using a survey in the form of an electronic questionnaire: The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). The questionnaire was distributed to the students via e-mail and social media networks. [Results] The RIPLS was completed by 296 female health-care students at KSU who valued the importance of IPE. The differences between health-care disciplines in the perceptions and readiness toward IPE were statistically significant, but there were no differences between students of different years of study in their perception and readiness toward IPE. [Conclusion] Administering a course of interprofessional teamwork in the health-care curriculum is a major challenge for the clinical education community. IPE offers an opportunity to address the multi-disciplinary concept in hospitals. Our findings indicate that undergraduate health-care students have high perception and readiness toward IPE.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary team; Interprofessional education; Perception.