Veterinary Interprofessional Education - what do the students think?

Background
There has been great evolutionary change within the veterinary profession, from veterinarians working as solo practitioners to today’s practices whereby interprofessional teams consisting of veterinarians, veterinary nurses, receptionists, practice managers working collaboratively, often across several sites. Interprofessional education (IPE) interventions have helped to address some of the challenges seen within veterinary interprofessional practice,[1] such as poor communication, hierarchy,[2] lack of understanding of each other’s roles and poor attitudes and misconceptions.[3] Assessing student perceptions of IPE will provide information to enable the successful evaluation of current measures and insights to facilitate successful future interventions.

Summary of work
The study looked to explore what University of Bristol veterinary and veterinary nursing (VN) students understood about the other professions’ roles and what collaborative learning opportunities they wanted within their curricula and the benefits of those opportunities. Eight focus groups were conducted with veterinary (N=31) and veterinary nursing (N=31) students from Bristol Veterinary School to collect qualitative data that were analysed using thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified; veterinary interprofessional practice and working, perceptions of veterinarians and VNs, and integration of veterinary and VN students at the Bristol Veterinary School, each had three sub-themes.
Ideas for future IPE included case-based learning, practical group teaching sessions, and group project assignments. Students also mentioned the need for more formal teaching to explain the roles and responsibilities of both professions. While highlighting the many potential benefits of IPE, challenges to mixing both student cohorts were identified including misconceptions about the other profession, hierarchy, and socio-cultural differences. Students stated that early integration between the two professional groups would be essential for social and educational mixing.
Take home message

This study has highlighted the importance of collating stakeholder i.e. student feedback. The student input is valuable to identify their perspective on IPE, potential future approaches and challenges to implementation. The study also highlights the requirement for more veterinary-specific IPE research in the UK and globally.

References
1. Adcock, K.G. and Earl, S. (2023) Interprofessional education tracks: One schools response to common IPE barriers. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching & Learning, 15(5):528-533.
2. Kinnison, T., May, S.A. and Guile, D. (2014) Inter-professional practice: from veterinarian to the veterinary team. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 41(2):172-178.
3. Bamfield-Cummings, S., Bufkin, K., Jones, S., Bayhaghi, G., Kashyap, H. and De Leo, G. (2023) Interprofessional Education in NAACLS MLT and MLS Programs: Results of a National Survey. Laboratory Medicine, 54(6):555-561.