What are the elements that supported healthcare students learning during an online program? An evaluation of a pilot online inter-professional project at NUI Galway

Background: Best practice in contemporary healthcare is underpinned by interdisciplinary working. It is therefore imperative that healthcare students are provided with the opportunity to learn from, with and about each other.... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Best practice in contemporary healthcare is underpinned by interdisciplinary working. It is therefore imperative that healthcare students are provided with the opportunity to learn from, with and about each other. Challenges to the implementation of inter-professional education (IPE) within healthcare professional courses include large student numbers and time table synchronisation. This study reports on a six week online course, using the Values Exchange (VX) system which enables students to learn collaboratively through solving shared clinical scenarios.

Aims and Objectives: To identify the factors that supported healthcare students’ learning during an online IPE programme designed to promote collaborative learning.

Method: A mixed methods study was conducted. Focus groups with 47 students were initially undertaken and from this a 34 item evaluation questionnaire was designed. The survey was then distributed to 166 healthcare students who participated on the course. The survey was available both online and in hard copy as some students were away from campus on placements at the time of distribution. A subset of questions (n=8) focusing on elements supporting learning was the focus of this study. Descriptive analysis was utilised in this study. Ethical approval was provided by the Ethics Committee at NUI Galway.

Findings: 122 responses (Nursing: n=71; Medicine: n=22; Occupational Therapy: n=21; Speech and Language Therapy: n=7; Social Care: n=1) were received (RR=73%). Most students agreed or strongly agreed that found it difficult to follow comments in a large group (80.3%), and that smaller mixed inter-professional groups for the entire programme would have enhanced their learning (77.5%). Nursing students agreed or strongly agreed that the case scenarios were relevant to their learning to a lesser degree than the other student groups (Nursing: 37.6%, Medicine: 86.3%; Allied and Social Care: 89.6%). Nursing students also agreed or strongly agreed that identified the lack of participation and involvement of other disciplines hindered their learning to a greater degree than other student groups (Nursing: 78.6%; Medicine: 40.9%; Allied and Social Care: 48.2%).

Conclusion and Implications:
This study has identified factors which may enhance students’ online inter-professional learning experience and should be integrated into future course design.