Opportunities to improve the medical education experience in an interprofessional educational Setting: An application of concept mapping

Background: The Interprofessional Partnership to Advance Care and Education (iPACE™) model was developed and piloted on an Internal Medicine (IM) unit at Maine Medical Center to promote interprofessional care and education. Although there were many benefits of this care model, residents had multiple concerns that limited model acceptance. Concept Mapping (CM) was identified to further explore, understand, and address these concerns. Objectives: CM was applied to explore IM resident and faculty perceptions of what would make IP experiences, such as iPACE™, more valuable to increase their acceptability. Methods: Sixty-four IM faculty and residents were recruited. They completed the following statement: “Interprofessional educational experiences, such as iPACE™, add more value to medical education when _______”. Following the CM steps, the study utilized 2 online surveys and 2 focus groups. Results: Response rates for two surveys were 38 % and 23 % and focus groups were capped at 15 participants. The 43 generated statements were grouped into 5 clusters and participants named them as follows: (1) Building systems that promote efficiency, (2) Values patient/care team wellbeing, (3) Dynamic and engaging interprofessional team rounds, (4) Supportive education integrated into daily experience for all, and (5) Setting expectations for experiential and formal education. Cluster 1 was rated as having highest importance with an average of 4.5/5 and statements in this cluster focused on resources and processes that make rounds more efficient, flexible, and effective. Conclusion: This study suggests that IM residents and faculty value IP educational experiences when there is faculty buy-in and when they minimize perceived care inefficiencies and administrative burdens.