Patients’ and Partners’ Perceptions of Care and Education Within an Interprofessional Training Unit on a Dutch Maternity Ward

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Interprofessional Training Units (ITUs) on hospital wards offer a way to prepare healthcare students for collaborative care in the Landscape of Practice (LoP), where professional communities and patients intersect. While learning in ITUs aims to enhance teamwork and patient outcomes, little is known about patient perspectives on care and interprofessional education (IPE) in fast-paced ITU settings. This prompted our research question: What are patients' and their partners' perceptions of the care they received and of the educational dynamics in an ITU on a maternity ward? <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Using semi-structured interviews, we collected qualitative data from 14 pairs of patients and their partners in the ITU of a maternity ward in a Dutch teaching hospital between February and May 2025. We adopted an inductive constructivist thematic analysis, using sensitizing concepts from LoP and Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice to guide coding and interpretation. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We identified three interrelated themes concerning patients' and their partners' perceptions about care and education in the ITU: 1) Patients' need for trust in the student-team was the key condition for patients' acceptance of interprofessional care on the ITU. For patients to feel they could trust the student team, students needed to convey confidence while being transparent about their limitations and show genuine care for patients and their partners; 2) Patients' and partners' recognition of the value of IPE at multiple levels: for themselves, for the students, and for future patients; 3) Patients' and partners' view of their role in the ITU: when patients felt they were able to trust the student-team, and even more when they recognized the value of IPE, they expressed willingness to facilitate students' learning. However, they described this contribution as limited in scope: they were open to supporting IPE in practice as 'boundary spanners' but did not wish to take on a formal teaching role as 'boundary brokers.' <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our study shows that learning with and from patients in an ITU requires shifting beyond a focus on students understanding each other's roles and responsibilities. Instead, it calls for an approach that also acknowledges the needs as well as desired roles of patients and their partners within the LoP. As 'boundary spanners,' patients and their partners can help bridge the gap between their lived experiences of care and students' different professional perspectives. We also offer some practical implications for ITU tutors.