Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu

Interprofessional training in outpatient primary health care

Tervaskanto-Mäentausta Tiina, Senior Lecturer, MNSc, Med, PHN, Oulu University of Applied Sciences

Manninen Minna, Senior Lecturer, MHSc, RN, Oulu University of Applied Sciences

Future health care and health professionals' education face new challenges. Patient care is shifting from hospital to day care hospitals and outpatient primary care. The amount of elderly population and patients with major chronic public health issues is increasing, and requires interprofessional collaboration with hospitals and primary care. To ensure the quality of care to all, the health care expenditure has to be curbed. Interprofessional training is organized for undergraduate medical and health care students in outpatient primary care in partnership with the two Universities of Oulu and health and wellbeing Centre of the city of Oulu. 

The interprofessional training policlinics have been organized for medical, nurse, public health nurse and midwifery students (n=150). Interprofessional student teams planned and carried out outpatient visits of diabetic type 2, pediatric and gynecological patients, and performed small scale surgical operations. The facilitators were doctors from the university hospital and doctors and special nurses from the health care center. Students' attitudes towards IPL (RIPLS) and learning experiences were investigated after the training periods using questionnaires. Patients gave feedback of the visits. 

More than 85% of the students agreed strongly that learning together helped them to become more effective team members. Patient centeredness and trusting each other were evaluated very important. The big picture of taking care of primary care patients had been learnt too. The attitudes were more diverged with statements concerning the function of professionals and learning the clinical skills. Students perceived they had adequate skills in teamwork, creating a trustable atmosphere, finding out patients problems, respecting patients and noticing nonverbal communication. They have to learn more to take in account all the patients problems and strengths, when making the care plan together. Keeping time was also challencing to the students. The patients felt they had received friendly, careful and trustable care.