Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disease with no cure. An interdisciplinary care model is the treatment standard for patients with ALS (PALS). An interprofessional ALS clinic provides PALS and their families with evidence-based care that focuses on improved quality of life and optimization of medical services. This lightening talk will highlight how an interprofessional group of providers serving in an out-patient ALS clinic shifted their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure patients and their families received the care and guidance needed to navigate their disease process. The clinic team is composed of professionals from neurology, speech language pathology, respiratory care, nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, pharmacy, equipment specialist, and nursing (representing the ALS Association). Our discussion will provide the audience with a modified telehealth model that could be replicated within their own interprofessional clinic setting. This IP team was able to maintain continuity of care and meaningful connections with our PALS during an unprecedented time, through interviewing, screening, remote assessment, debriefing, and follow ups with patients and primary caregivers. As vaccinations became available to healthcare providers and specific patient populations, we responded by shifting to a hybrid model. Many PALS and their caregivers expressed gratitude for the telehealth option as they were fearful to attend an in-person visit, but hesitant to miss a clinical appointment due to their multifaceted needs. Additionally, as the condition progresses, traveling to an office, pandemic or not, becomes a significant burden for PALS and their caregivers. As things return to a new-normal, modified telehealth should be considered as a viable option for those taking care of PALS in order to maintain the delivery of services, obtain the essential equipment in this patient population, and provide caregiver support.

Yes / Objective: To investigate timely access to palliative medicines/drugs (PMs) from community pharmacies to inform palliative care service delivery. Design: Mixed methods in two sequential phases: (1) prospective audit of prescriptions and concurrent survey of patients/representatives collecting PMs from pharmacy and (2) interviews with community pharmacists (CPs) and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). Setting: Five community pharmacies in Sheffield, UK and HCPs that deliver palliative care in that community. Participants: Phase 1: five CPs: two providing access to PMs within a locally commissioned service (LCS) and three not in the LCS; 55 patients/representatives who completed the survey when accessing PMs and phase 2: 16 HCPs, including five phase 1 CPs, were interviewed. Results: The prescription audit collected information on 75 prescriptions (75 patients) with 271 individual PMs; 55 patients/representatives (73%) completed the survey. Patients/representatives reported 73% of PMs were needed urgently. In 80% of cases, patients/representatives received all PMs on the first pharmacy visit. One in five had to travel to more than one pharmacy to access PMs. The range of PMs stocked by pharmacies was the key facilitating factor. CPs reported practical issues causing difficulty keeping PMs in stock and playing a reactive role with palliative prescriptions. Confidentiality concerns were cited by other HCPs who were reluctant to share key patient information proactively with pharmacy teams. Inadequate information transfer, lack of CP integration into the care of palliative patients and poor HCP knowledge of which pharmacies stock PMs meant patients and their families were not always able to access PMs promptly. Conclusions: Consistent routine information transfer and integration of pharmacy teams in the care of palliative patients are needed to achieve timely access to PMs. Commissioners of PM access schemes should review and monitor access. HCPs need to be routinely made aware and reminded about the service and its locations. / EJM received research funding from Pharmacy Research UK and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as well as support from St Luke’s Hospice, Sheffield. AB and JDM report grants from Pharmacy Research UK during the conduct of the study.

The problem exists that there are no education initiatives focused on teaching and taking into practice the skills of effective interprofessional discourse in this online, asynchronous, professional environment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether it is possible for students in the health professions to learn to practice effective interprofesssional online discourse in an electronic health record. This was a mixed methods study that included both quantitative ad qualitative inquiry underpinned by post positivism and used a method triangulation research design model. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed from an educational intervention and simulated electronic health record exercise. The students' perceptions of their practice in an electronic health record did not necessarily match their knowledge and skills in this group of students. Emergent themes from the study pointed in the possible direction of perceived value of the exercise, prior experience in an electronic health record, and logistical barriers to the activity. Perceived time constraints was a particularly strong concern of the students. The emergent themes might be valuable considerations for other interprofessional programs looking to implement similar activities concerning the electronic health record.

The need to incorporate interprofessional education (IPE) as part of any healthcare profession curricula is growing in an approach to prepare a collaborative practice-ready workforce. Pharmacy students should be equipped with the necessary competencies and skills needed for them to practise interprofessionally, commensurate with the expanding and evolving role of the pharmacist. Thus, the Qatar University College of Pharmacy has decided to incorporate IPE initiatives formally into the pharmacy curriculum in collaboration with other healthcare institutions in Qatar to meet the accreditation standards set by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) and fulfil the recommendations set in the World Health Organization (WHO) framework. To implement effective IPE strategies, it is important to consider the prior attitudes and expectations of various stakeholders in the process -- particularly students, faculty, and practising pharmacists. The overall aim of this PhD research is to explore the pharmacy perspectives of IPE and collaborative practice from a Middle Eastern context. The research started with a comprehensive systematic review of the literature focusing on the perspectives of pharmacy students, pharmacy faculty, and practising pharmacists on IPE and collaborative practice. Five themes have been identified from the systematic review: inconsistency in reporting IPE research, professional image of the pharmacist, lack of longitudinal follow-up, lack of IPE research on faculty, and lack of mixed method studies. This was followed by three sequential explanatory mixed method designs, to explore the perception of faculty, students, and practising pharmacists, individually. This was undertaken to gain an in depth understanding of the strengths and challenges of each group that can affect the implementation and perspectives toward IPE and collaborative practice. Two data collection methods were used: quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups. Quantitative data were imported into SPSS® version 22 and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data from the focus groups were analysed using thematic analysis. For the quantitative surveys, the overall response rate was 117 out of 334 (35%) for pharmacy faculty in the Middle East, 102/132 (77%) for pharmacy students in Qatar and 178/285 (63%) for practising pharmacists in Qatar. This was followed by seven focus groups with a total of 51 participants. Findings, from both the survey and focus groups, support that students, faculty and practising pharmacists are ready to engage in IPE and collaborative practice. The findings further identified positive attitudes that reinforce the need to incorporate IPE into healthcare curricula. They perceive anticipated benefits to them as professionals and to the patients. However, a large number of challenges have been highlighted, including the existence of a hierarchical culture, pharmacists’ role and image, a weak sense of professional identity among pharmacists, their marginalised contribution, resistance from the healthcare teams to the evolving role of the pharmacists, and the heterogeneous background of healthcare professionals. Promisingly, the education and healthcare system in Qatar is undergoing significant changes with some positive influences noted within education and practice settings. This is the first study investigating pharmacy perspectives of IPE in Qatar, the Middle East, and worldwide. The findings from this research generated a body of knowledge regarding the pharmacy perspectives of IPE and provided a better understanding of what shapes this perspective from a Middle Eastern context. The research presents a new model based on collective input, efforts, and readiness in five key stages: academic institution, faculty, student, practice, and environment. The model moves beyond focusing on the individual stages separately and expands to consider the complexity of linking and aligning the stages together. Coordinated efforts, between the stages, focused on a more comprehensive and holistic implementation, is essential for successful implementation of IPE and collaborative practice.

Health provider student characteristics and professional program were evaluated as predictors of attitudes toward inter-professional (IP) teams. Sixteen months after completing a self-report battery of demographic and non-ability trait measures, participants completed a second survey (N = 213), assessing components of attitudes toward IP teams. Non-ability traits showed comparable within-program predictive validities for affective reactions toward IP behavior. Additionally, results indicated the incremental predictive validity of trait Dominance and Motivational Inter-professional Team Intelligence, over professional program, for IP attitudes and affective reactions toward IP behavior, respectively. The independent, relative, and joint roles of non-ability individual differences and professional program as determinants of IP training outcomes are discussed.

The Occupational Therapist's Intervention for Adult Patients with Neurogenic Dysphagia Abstract of the Thesis: Dysphagia is a serious disorder, often caused by a cerebrovascular accident; in many cases it may be its only or primary symptom, and even the cause of death. The main objective of this thesis is to raise awareness of swallowing disorders among occupational therapists. Despite the fact that the occupational therapist's intervention for patients with swallowing disorder is common practice among occupational therapists abroad, this issue still is not well known among occupational therapists in the Czech Republic. There is also a considerable lack of Czech literature dealing with swallowing disorders from the occupational therapy point of view. This thesis therefore not only presents theoretical findings in this field but also recommends practical procedures for occupational therapists. The theoretical part of the thesis describes functional anatomy of the swallowing structures and swallowing physiology and pathophysiology. It analyses different causes of dysphagia with a focus on neurological disorders, defines the term dysphagia and other related terms, and briefly explains several classification methods of dysphagia. While the first part of the thesis looks primarily into the diagnostics and...

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskan ska kunna samverka i team där flera vårdprofessioner är delaktiga, så kallade interprofessionella team. För att kunna lära sig arbeta i ett interprofessionellt team kan interprofessionellt lärande vara till hjälp. En läraktivitet som används vid interprofessionellt lärande är simuleringar, där studenter från olika vårdutbildningar kan samlas i ett team och arbeta med ett iscensatt patientfall. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva sjuksköterskestudenters upplevelser av interprofessionella simuleringar.  Metod: Litteraturstudien baserades på tolv vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats. Litteratursökningarna som låg till grund för arbetet gjordes i databaserna CINAHL och PubMed. De vetenskapliga artiklarna granskades enligt en granskningsmall för kvalitativa studier och innehållet analyserades. Resultat: I resultatet framkom tre teman om sjuksköterskestudenternas upplevelser: interprofessionella team, roller, och lärsituation. Alla tre teman hade två subteman, vilket resulterade i totalt sex subteman.  Slutsats: Flertalet sjuksköterskestudenter upplevde de interprofessionella simuleringarna som en positiv erfarenhet, som gav möjligheten att lära om teamarbete, kommunikation samt den egna rollen och andras roller i teamet. / Background: Nurses are required to be able to work within a team. Within healthcare these teams are oftentimes interprofessional, where a multitude of healthcare professions are working together. Learning how to work in interprofessional teams is aided by interprofessional education. One activity often used in interprofessional education are simulations, where students from different professions gather and work together on a staged patient case.  Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nursing students’ experiences of interprofessional simulations. Method: This literature study used twelve scientific articles with a qualitative study design. The included articles were found in two databases, CINAHL and PubMed. The scientific papers were reviewed using a template for reviewing qualitative articles and then the content was analyzed.  Results: Three themes related to nursing students’ experiences were found in the result, interprofessional teams, roles and learning situation. Each theme had two subthemes, resulting in a total of six subthemes.  Conclusion: The nursing students who participated in simulations within interprofessional education had mainly positive experiences. These experiences were summarized as improved communication skills, improved understanding of teamwork as well as an improved understanding of their own and other’s roles within the team.

Training interprofessional healthcare teams continues to advance practice for patient-centered care. Empathy research is also advancing and has been explored in social work, psychology, and other healthcare areas. In the absence of understanding empathy in an interprofessional setting, educators are limited in preparing teams to develop empathy as part of core competencies This grounded theory study explored for a theory of how interprofessional healthcare teams conceptualize and operationalize empathy in their practice. Azjen's theory of planned behavior and Barrett-Lennard's cyclical model of empathy framed the study. Data were collected using 6 focus groups and 24 semistructured interviews of varied healthcare professionals working in an interprofessional setting in Ontario, Canada. Systematic data analysis utilizing Auerbach and Silverstein's (2003) approach revealed participants engaged in and valued empathy as a team. Empathy was identified as purposeful and intentional behaviors believed to be meaningful for positive patient outcomes. In addition, professionals identified the role of genuine intent in the practice of empathy. As a result of this study, a grounded theory of interprofessional intentional empathy centered care explains the conceptualization and operationalization of empathy in practice. Collective empathy in an interprofessional team model contributes to improved patient outcomes. The work of this study ascertains that empathy is not accidental; it should be cultivated in the form of intentional and genuine team experiences. This study advances social change by further identifying how the practice of empathy can be integrated into interprofessional healthcare education and praxis.

Objective. To assess the impact of this international interprofessional learning experience on perceptions of pharmacist-physician relationships and interprofessional teams. Methods. Medical and pharmacy students completed a one-week interprofessional medical mission experience in the Dominican Republic. Anonymous surveys were administered to 17 students before and after completion to measure perceptions of pharmacist-physician relationships and interprofessional teams. Responses were matched and changes in perceptions were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. The SPICE-R2 instrument was administered after the experience to measure attitudes toward interprofessional teams. Results. Of the 17 participants, 100% responded to all surveys. Significant improvements were seen in the perception of pharmacists as an integral part of medical mission trips (P=0.035) and confidence in the ability to communicate with other healthcare disciplines (P=0.033). All students stated they would recommend this experience, and agreed that interprofessional experiences enhance their team work skills and should be incorporated into their education. Student comments supported that this was a meaningful and effective interprofessional experience. The results of the SPICE-R2 demonstrated positive attitudes about interprofessional teams, with all questions having a median score of “agree” or “strongly agree.” Conclusions. An international interprofessional experience improved the perception of pharmacist-physician relationships. The experience provided understanding of the other healthcare discipline, an appreciation for the importance of interprofessional teamwork, increased student confidence in communicating with the other discipline, and cultivated interest in future interprofessional collaboration.

An interprofessional approach to pediatric behavioral care is increasingly important in the care of pediatric patients, who present to healthcare settings with a wide variety of concerns ranging from potty training to depression. Previously, much of the care of these patients have focused on a narrow approach to the problem, based on the expertise of the professional providing care. Faculty from three disciplines: Social Work, Psychology, and Medicine collaborated to design a course for students from these three disciplines to collaborate in attaining three goals: (1) reinforce the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, (2) share clinical techniques and skills in a simulated interprofessional setting, and (3) practice collaboration within interprofessional teams. We detail the course goals and design and topics covered and discuss implementation of this course. Suggested module content and pedagogical design are discussed, and case examples are detailed with the goal of encouraging the adoption of similar courses.