Introduction and Background
The UW-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (UW CIPE) Clinical and Community Placement Experience (as part of the CIPE Experiential Expansion Initiative) aims to enhance experiential interprofessional learning for students during their clinical and community placements. This was the second year that UW CIPE partnered with the Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers Community Health Internship Program (WI AHEC CHIP) to provide AHEC CHIP student interns with learning in IPE, and an opportunity to apply IPE concepts in their internships. All AHEC regional centers across the state of Wisconsin, aside from the Milwaukee regional center, participated in this collaborative experience with UW CIPE. In total, 95 student interns participated in this experience.
This document serves to summarize the full report on the content and outcomes of the 2024 program. Quantitative and qualitative data and feedback from pre-program and post-program surveys, along with student reflection journals, were completed by students. The surveys had a good response rate, with at least 70 students responding to each question on the pre/post surveys.
Programming
The CIPE Clinical and Community Placement Experience aims to apply knowledge from IPE learning to the students’ clinical and community placements. The program provides tools to students, instructors, and preceptors to intentionally integrate IPE concepts into practice. The overall objective is to graduate students who are well-prepared for collaborative practice, capable of leading IPE initiatives, and advancing the Quintuple Aim, which encompasses better health, improved care, enhanced value, a superior work experience, and greater health equity, with the goal of improving healthcare for all.
The learning objectives for the program are as follows:
- Work with team members to maintain a climate of shared values, ethical conduct, and mutual respect. (IPEC 2023 – Values and Ethics)
- Use the knowledge of one’s own role and team members’ expertise to address health outcomes. (IPEC 2023 – Roles and Responsibilities)
- Communicate in a responsive, responsible, respectful, and compassionate manner with team members. (IPEC 2023 – Communication)
- Apply values and principles of team science to adapt one’s own role in a variety of team settings. (IPEC 2023 – Teams and Teamwork)
The program consisted of three synchronous, virtual sessions over the course of the students’ summer internships. At the Orientation session, students were provided with an overview of the experience, what to look for in terms of IPE integration at their host sites, and a set of conversation starters to prepare them to utilize an IPE lens at their host site. At the Check-In session, students had the opportunity to share their experiences at their host sites, and they received another set of conversation starters to further build the tools to become an IPE champion during their internships. Lastly, at the Debrief session, students shared and compared their IPE experiences during their internships with other student interns.
Results
Analysis of student demographics and past experiences revealed that most students were currently in undergraduate programs and interested in a future career in public health or healthcare, particularly medicine. Many students began the experience with a self-reported “slight” to “moderate” understanding of the concept of interprofessional collaboration and finished the experience with a “very well” to “extremely well” understanding.
Comparisons of pre- and post-survey results revealed a general theme of learning and growth among most students. The pre- and post-survey results for the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS) revealed that students tended to have more positive team cooperation and coordination aspects to report at the end of the experience. Similarly, the pre- and post-survey results for the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale-21 (ISVS-21) showed that overall, by the end of the experience, many students had gained an increased appreciation and understanding of how to work effectively on an interprofessional team.
Summarization of the students’ reflection journals revealed many aspects of personal growth over the course of the program. There were five themes present among the students’ final journal reflections: gaining appreciation for every member on the interprofessional team, learning and prioritizing effective communication skills, learning skills in teamwork, observing the value of respect, and realizing the power of one’s own voice and ideas. These themes align with the original goals and learning objectives of the IPE Clinical and Community Placement Experience and are encouraging to see present in many students’ journal reflections.
Lessons Learned
Analysis of program feedback from the post-survey highlighted some strengths of the program, while also highlighting areas for future growth. Students verbalized that they had learned a lot about IPE and its importance, feeling that their communication and teamwork skills had grown because of the experience. However, students also reported that aspects of the program were sometimes “lengthy” and “redundant,” with one student suggesting shortening the program from three live session to two live sessions. Others reported having a difficult time connecting to the material presented as students, feeling that some of the information presented may not apply to them or their internship roles. This constructive feedback will be valuable as we look to improve the experience for future cohorts of students.
In summary, the IPE Clinical and Community Placement Experience has made a positive impact on the learning and growth of the majority of the AHEC CHIP interns that participated in the program. While there is room for improvement of the program, specifically ensuring a more concise and engaging experience for students, it is also important to recognize the many successes of the program. Many students came away from the program with a new-found appreciation of the importance of IPE and many new skills in communication and teamwork. These are lessons that students will carry with them as they progress through their education and enter the workforce. As one student wrote in their final journal reflection, “This community placement experience has underscored the importance of an interprofessional approach to healthcare, demonstrating how collaborative efforts lead to more effective and holistic care.”
All CHIP students who participated in the program and completed a reflection journal, received an IPE Clinical & Community Badge! 
A special thank you to IPE PoD candidate, Seela Raj, (2nd Year MD student), for her work on helping with this project including the evaluation and final report.