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Abstract

Abstract

Supporting interprofessional competency-based education requires embedding educational opportunities within coursework and clinical experiences. This education prioritizes student engagement and learning from, with and about other professionals to support collaboration and communication amongst clinicians (CAIE, 2020). While the provision of interprofessional clinical opportunities is recommended, it is challenging to implement effectively in professional and pre-professional settings. Academic settings have the unique ability to provide interprofessional collaborative clinical experiences for students. This pilot study focuses on Speech Language Pathology (SLP) and Occupational Therapy (OT) clinical assessment experiences, specifically in the context of pediatric motor speech and sensory processing disorders. These disorders often present comorbidly in a pediatric population and clinicians primarily complete assessments in discipline-specific settings. This study investigated the emerging interprofessional competency and knowledge of SLP and OT students during interdisciplinary pediatric evaluations. Six graduate student clinicians and two licensed practitioners completed speech/language/occupational therapy assessments on three children with suspected sensory processing and/or motor speech difficulties. Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) was utilized pre- and post- assessment to capture potential changes in interprofessional clinical competencies. A majority (>50%) of the student clinicians reported change in at least one domain of the ICCAS. Qualitative results yielded three themes regarding interprofessionalism: importance of a complete holistic conceptualization of a clinical presentation, reciprocal learning and sharing in areas of clinical overlap, and creation of a clinical safe space supported by increased foundational understanding of each discipline’s clinical expertise. This study highlights the need for increased competency-based clinical collaborative opportunities for students during pre-professional training.

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