Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Katherine A. Garlouogh

Abstract

A disparity exists between what is known about the benefits of interprofessional education (IPE) and implementation of IPE at the university under study. The World Health Organization called on institutes of higher education to provide IPE in the education of health professionals to improve the healthcare workforce’s capacity to provide quality care. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions of health professions faculty members (HPFMs) about IPE and how those perceptions might be influenced by the organizational culture at the site. Informed by Hofstede’s dimensions of culture theory, the research questions addressed HPFMs’ understanding of and attitudes about IPE, their perceptions about the organizational culture, and their perceptions about how the organizational culture has affected IPE implementation at the site. Eight semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted and results were analyzed using in-vivo and values coding. Five themes emerged (a) divergent vision, (b) sporadic support, (c) educational silos, (d) IPE influencers, and (e) strong service ethos. Findings led to the creation of a white paper in which three recommendations were made to help the site implement IPE: (a) create an IPE implementation team to lead the change; (b) provide IPE training for faculty, staff, and administrators to facilitate preparation; and (c) use service-learning to link IPE to the strong cultural service ethos. This research study contributes to positive social change by enhancing the university’s capacity to prepare collaborative practice-ready health professions graduates who can provide higher quality and safer patient care and who will be more satisfied by their work.

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