Comparison of an In-Person versus a Virtual Interprofessional Education Activity Focused on Professional Communication

Abstract

Early provision of interprofessional education (IPE) is imperative to ensure effective communication between healthcare professionals. However, there are several barriers to offering adequate IPE, including space restrictions and lack of human resources, prompting exploration of alternative modalities. In 2019, an IPE activity was offered in person with 213 pharmacy and 45 physician assistant (PA) students participating in one-on-one team huddles focusing on managing an acutely ill patient. In 2020, the same IPE activity, including 194 pharmacy and 45 PA students, was offered virtually. Peer evaluations, an attitudes survey, and confidence surveys were administered to evaluate the impact of the IPE activity. A student t-test and descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the data. On average, PA students in the virtual group rated their peers higher than PA students in the in-person group, with little difference in the pharmacy peer evaluation of their PA partner. Ninety percent of pharmacy students and 91% of PA students in the virtual group felt that “they learned something new regarding therapeutic management” from their partner versus 84% of pharmacy and 81% of PA students in the in-person group. In conclusion, using a virtual modality for a communications-focused IPE was not detrimental to student attitudes and did not adversely affect peer perceptions.