Interdisciplinary teaching in family medicine teaching units: the residents’ points of view

BACKGROUND: Interdisciplinary teaching (IDT) is the norm in Canadian family medicine residency programs. Literature on IDT reports many academic, collaborative and organizational benefits, but little is known about family medicine residents’ own perspectives of IDT. The purpose of this study was to explore family medicine residents’ points of view on IDT in family medicine teaching units (FMTU). METHODS: A mixed methods design combined interviews and self-completed online questionnaires to explore participants’ perceptions of IDT during residency. Content analysis was conducted on the qualitative data and univariate analysis statistical tests on means and proportions were conducted on the quantitative survey questions. RESULTS: A total of 125 family medicine residents from 12 FMTU affiliated with Université Laval (Quebec City) participated in the study (11 interviews and 114 online questionnaires). Participants perceived significant benefits of IDT, including clinical knowledge, complementary perspectives and interprofessional collaboration skills. However, they believe that IDT works best when the educators adapt their teaching to the specific needs of residents in family medicine. CONCLUSION: These findings support those of previous IDT research and highlight the positive impacts of interdisciplinary education in family medicine residency, especially on interprofessional collaboration. IDT should remain an essential component of the family medicine curricula.