Student-Initiated Interprofessional Case Discussions: Improving Students’ Perception of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice / Studierenden-initiierte Interprofessionelle Fallbesprechungen: Verbesserung der studentischen Wahrnehmung

Abstract Introduction & Background Opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) remain insufficient for healthcare students and young professionals. To address this, the Swiss Health Alliance for Interprofessional Education (SHAPED, www.shaped-ip.ch ) has developed a new IPE activity: the Interprofessional Case Discussions (ICDs). Led by a near-peer facilitator, students from different healthcare professions discuss a clinical case in a “murder-mystery” format: Can they catch the murderer (aka the disease) in time to save the patient? This study assessed the impact of the student-initiated ICDs on participants’ IPE perception. Methods Students from nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, midwifery, pharmacy, and medicine in interprofessional groups (6–8 students) participated in an ICD at Zurich University of Applied Sciences in spring 2024. The validated Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education–Revised (SPICE-R) self-report instrument was used in a pre-post-design. Results In total, 33 participants completed the pre- and post-questionnaire. The overall mean significantly improved from pre- ( M = 3.86, SD ± 0.39) to post-ICD (( M = 4.22, SD ± 0.42); paired t -test: t = −5.18, p < .001, n = 33). The calculated effect size ( d = 0.88) indicated a strong effect, according to Cohen (1992). After Bonferroni-adjustment for multiple testing, the two subscales teamwork and patient outcome showed statistically significant improvement pre- to post-ICD. Discussion Students showed high baseline scores, indicating a positive attitude toward IPE. However, participation in the ICDs further improved their perception of IPE, especially with regard to teamwork and patient outcome. While having limitations that come with a small sample-size, this study supports the efficacy of ICDs and reinforces the benefits of student-initiated IPE activities.