Interprofessional education between medical students and nurse practitioner students in a Global Health course

BACKGROUND: Few global health experiences include intentionally-directed interprofessional training. We aim to prospectively evaluate the impact of a global health elective in facilitating interprofessional education (IPE) and promoting cultural sensitivity. METHODS: We included in our study, medical and nursing students who participated in the 2015 and 2016 cohorts of the Nicaragua Global Health course. The course consisted of a 12-week curriculum, and included an in-country immersion where students were organized into small-groups that participated in a variety of interprofessional activities. Students filled out pre- and post-course surveys. We performed quantitative analysis on numeric data and qualitative analysis on open-ended questions. RESULTS: Of 39 total students enrolled in the course, 26 (18 medical and 8 nursing students) participated in the study and filled out the pre- and post-course surveys. Mean competency scores increased for all questions between pre- and post-course surveys, and of these, 5 of 7 reached statistical significance. Qualitative themes identified included: 1) the importance of understanding other team member’s roles and relative strengths; 2) the value provided by the breaking down of traditional power dynamics between clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Global health experiences represent a unique and under-utilized opportunity for facilitating IPE.