Interprofessional education (IPE) allows students in health professional programs to practice providing collaborative patient care before graduating. Understanding the perceptions and experiences of health care professionals' IPE received prior to entering the workforce is key for improving IPE programs. This study investigated participants' post-licensure interprofessional collaboration (IPC) experiences, how IPE helped prepare them for IPC post-licensure, their perceptions of the IPE they received as students, and their suggestions for improving IPE. This qualitative descriptive study included 20 healthcare workers from seven professions who graduated from two of three co-located post-secondary educational institutions. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis revealed five themes and six sub-themes: (a) Quality of care; (b) Role clarification; (c) Interpersonal skills (sub-themes: communication and self-confidence); (d) Co-location; and (e) Need for IPE improvements (sub-themes: additional IPE exposures, shadowing experiences, mandatory IPE, and informal peer learning). These findings appear to reinforce the perception that pre-licensure IPE may support the development of skills for IPC among practicing health professionals.
Keywords: Interprofessional education; experiences; interprofessional collaboration; perceptions; post-licensure; pre-licensure.