Comparison of Students’ Perception of Preparedness for Interprofessional learning readiness in apprenticeship and apprenticeship on site in Schools of Nursing and Midwifery of Islamic Azad Universities in Isfahan, Iran in 2018

Background & Objective: Interprofessional education (IPE) is one of the new approaches in the education of students in health-related disciplines. This type of training can increase interprofessional collaborations, thereby improving patient care quality. This study aimed to compare the perception of IPE in students apprenticeship and apprenticeship on site in schools of nursing and midwifery of Islamic Azad University in Isfahan, Iran in 2018. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational research was performed on 284 fifth and sixth-semester (before apprenticeship on site) and eighth-semester (during the apprenticeship on site) nursing and midwifery students, selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected using the readiness for interprofessional learning scale (IRPLS). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22. Results: In this study, 255 students were female (89.8%) and the rest were male (10.2%). The mean score of students’ perception of IPE apprenticeship was 76.62 (6.83) and apprenticeship on site was 80.21 (5.49), respectively. According to the results, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the mean score of perception of IPE in all subscales of the questionnaire (P<0.001). Before apprenticeship on site, the students had a favorable perception in the areas of teamwork and collaboration (100%), interprofessional education readiness (99.3%), professional identity (95.1%), and roles and responsibilities (66.9%). However, while the perception of students during the apprenticeship on site was favorable in the areas of IPE readiness and teamwork and collaboration (100%), professional identity (97.9%), and roles and responsibilities (94.4%), their mean score was significantly higher in the subscale of roles and responsibilities, compared to the other participants. Conclusion: According to the results of the present research, the students had favorable IPE readiness. However, they were more prepared in the subscale of teamwork and collaboration, compared to the areas of professional identity and roles and responsibilities.