(420) Implementation of Assessment Software To Evaluate First-Year Health Science Students’ Interprofessional Event Reflections

Objective: To evaluate Interprofessional Education (IPE) reflective assessment scores among first-year health science program students graded by interprofessional faculty utilizing a secure assessment software program.

Methods: Health science students (pharmacy, nursing, occupational therapy [OT], physical therapy [PT], physician assistant [PA], and public health) participated in two IPE events per semester, each focused primarily on one Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competency: Communication, Roles/Responsibilities (fall), and Teams/Teamwork, Values/Ethics (spring). After each event, students completed a reflective assignment addressing two areas: 1) their ability to describe knowledge, skills, or attitudes gained from the event related to each competency, and 2) the anticipated impact of the experience on their future delivery of patient care. Eight faculty from four graduate programs (OT, PT, pharmacy, and PA) anonymously graded student reflections randomized among graders. Rubric grading via an assessment software program, implemented for IPE evaluation beginning academic year 2023-2024, yielded a numeric score. Overall scores for each competency and for each program were compared using a one-way analysis of variance. Post-hoc analyses were performed using paired student’s t-test.

Results: A total of 152 reflections were submitted by students (pharmacy=43, OT=16, PA=57, PT=36). Program-specific average scores ranged from 90-95% (pharmacy), 87-100% (OT), 96-98% (PA), and 85-95% (PT). Student scores were significantly lower overall for the communication event. Communication scores were significantly lower than other competencies for both the OT and PT programs.

Conclusions: Interprofessional faculty modeled collaborative practice as they defined a robust IPE assessment strategy utilizing assessment software for IPE rubric analysis. Through randomized anonymous grading, faculty gained new insights related to other health science professions which may inform interprofessional content for future IPE events.