This chapter discusses interprofessional communication skills labs which involve small groups of interprofessional students assessing a standardized patient. These labs aim to improve collaboration and quality of care by having students learn with, from, and about each other. They follow principles of adult learning and involve students taking on roles to practice critical thinking, group participation, and professional conduct while receiving feedback. While complex, communication skills labs provide an opportunity for healthcare students to collaborate and build skills needed to deliver high quality, interprofessional services.

1. Chapter 17
Interprofessional Communication
Skills Lab

2. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Lab
• Interprofessional Education
• Theoretical Foundation
• Types of Learners
• Interprofessional Communication Skills
Lab
• Potential Problems

3. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Lab
• Research has shown that collaboration
skills are not intuitive or always learned
on the job.
• If individuals from different professions
learn together in interprofessional
education (IPE), they will work better
together,

4. Interprofessional Education
• IPE occurs when students of two or more
professions learn with, from, and about
one another to improve collaboration
and quality of care.

5. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Works to improve the quality of care
– Encourages professionals to learn with,
from, and about each other
– Grounded in mutual respect
– Enhances practice within professions

6. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Core Competencies
• 1. Knowledge of and the ability to clearly
articulate one’s professional role and
responsibilities.
• 2. Knowledge of the roles and
responsibilities of other health
professionals, and knowing when to refer
and/or collaborate with others, in order
to provide optimal person-centered care.

7. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Core Competencies
• 3. Possession of the skills required for
collaboration, and the ability to
collaborate with others to establish
common goals (i.e., demonstrates
effective communication, shared decision
making, collaborative leadership,
problem solving, conflict resolution, etc.).

8. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Core Competencies
• 4. Contribution to team functioning by
consistently exhibiting the following
behaviors: sharing information, listening
attentively, respecting others’ opinions,
demonstrating flexibility and the ability
to trust others, using a common language,
providing and responding to feedback
from others, etc.

9. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Exposure Activities
• Knowledge based, relating to the first two
competencies
• Focus on describing roles and
responsibilities and demonstrating
awareness of the scope of practice of
other health professions

10. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Immersion Activities
• Longer duration, require higher levels of
interaction between health professional
students
• All four competencies may be addressed

11. Interprofessional Education
• Effective Interprofessional Education
– Mastery Activities
• Students will integrate their
interprofessional knowledge and skills in
a team environment
• Longer duration
• Build relationships in a team
environment
• Actively involved in team decision
making around client care

12. Theoretical Foundation
• There is generally little interaction
between students in different
professional programs and few
opportunities for faculty development in
IPE.
• IPE attempts to sensitize students to the
role of other healthcare disciplines and
teach the delivery of interprofessional
care.

13. Theoretical Foundation
• Contact Theory
• Allport’s (1954) proposed conditions
– Equality of status between groups
– Groups that work on common goals
– Groups that cooperate during their contact

14. Theoretical Foundation
• This form of teaching can overcome
traditional ways of knowing about how
to be a professional practitioner and has
the professional to result in more
effective relations within the healthcare
system.
• When IPE is offered at the prelicensure
level, improvements will be made in
interprofessional communication and
collaboration in practice.

15. Types of Learners
• The introduction of IPE at the
undergraduate level remains
controversial.
• Most students at this level have not
acquired their own sense of their own
professional characteristics or sufficient
practical experience.

16. Types of Learners
• Students at the postgraduate level are
able to take full advantage of the learning
opportunities available through IPE
because they have practical experience.
• Advantages for introducing IPE at the
undergraduate level include turning
negative stereotypes and improving
communications skills.

17. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Involve a small group of
interprofessional students, gathered
together to conduct an assessment of a
standardized patient, formulate learning
questions and prioritize health-related
issues, and formulate a hypothetical plan
of care.

18. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Developing the Scenario
– Provide a focus for learning
– Stimulate interest in the content
– Provide a meaningful context within which
prior learning is activated and new
knowledge is gained.

19. Insert Figure 17-1

20. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Developing the Scenario
– Identify who, what, where, why, and how.
• Who will be the audience?
• Why is the scenario being developed?
• What are the main concepts/issues?
• How will it play out?

21. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Developing the Scenario
– Go into the field.
• Develop of adjust the scenario based on
actual clinical cases.
• Have a professional evaluate the scenario.
– Provide supplementary data
– Double-check the scenario
– Integrate and evaluate
– Revise, revisit, refine

22. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Small Group, Problem-Based Learning
Approach
– Small group learning allows students to
develop a sense of responsibility for their
learning process.
– Students learn about human interaction,
develop interpersonal skills, and become
more aware of their emotional reactions and
moral standing.

23. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Role of Faculty
– Faculty observe the students from behind a
one way mirror, intervene if necessary, and
provide feedback.
– Faculty should be efficient in providing
evaluative comments, especially
constructive feedback.

24. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Role of Students
– Students need to demonstrate behaviors in
critical thinking, effective group
participation, and professional conduct.
– Task roles are actions such as initiating,
clarifying, informing, sharing, and
evaluating.

25. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Role of Students
– Maintenance roles are behaviors that act to
strengthen the group and maintain
harmony. Examples include offering
encouragement and support, open and
effective communication strategies, and
compromising.

26. Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
• Evaluation of Interprofessional
Communication Skills Labs
– Generally well received by participants
– Increased awareness of other professional
roles
– Increased confidence in communication
skills

27. Potential Problems
• IPE is complex and time-consuming.
• Difficult to schedule
• Faculty need to be knowledgeable,
competent, and confident.
• Faculty need to be proficient in applying
the principles of adult learning.
• Groups need to be balanced.

28. Conclusion
• Students in health professional programs
do not learn interprofessional concepts
from sitting in lecture halls.
• Communication skills labs provide the
opportunity to collaborate with students
from a variety of health professions.
• Solid healthcare partnerships can be
built, and high quality services can be
delivered.