SIGNIFICANCE: Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares students across disciplines to provide patient care as a team. There is evidence supporting IPE, but it is not the norm in health education. Occupational therapy students will be members of health care teams addressing complex issues and navigating evolving health care environments. IPE can provide opportunities for students from different disciplines to learn from each other and to practice effective team behaviors.

INNOVATION: This study provides a model that can be duplicated in other health education environments. The objective of this project was to assess the effectiveness of interprofessional team-based learning (TBL) for knowledge and team skills acquisition. In this study, we attempted to answer the following research question: Was this model of interprofessional TBL effective for knowledge and team skills acquisition?

Health professionals must acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to function in interprofessional teams. Evidence examining IPE for knowledge acquisition and team skills application is nominal. We examined the effectiveness of an interprofessional TBL experience for knowledge acquisition and application of team skills.

METHOD: An interprofessional group of faculty collaboratively designed content concerning patient safety, ethics, and health systems. Students were randomly assigned to interprofessional teams for three TBL sessions. During each session, teams engaged in case-based activities addressing patient safety, health care ethics, or health systems, and they collaboratively made patient care choices.

Students participated in three interactive sessions. Presession readings were posted online. Participants (N = 600) were from programs across the six colleges in the health science center. Students completed a test addressing the material in the reading assignments (Individual Readiness Assurance Test [IRAT]). As a team, members took the same test again (Team Readiness Assurance Test [TRAT]), collaboratively answering items and scoring team responses. To measure team skills, students evaluated their team competencies and perceived levels of participation using the Team Competencies Instrument—a measure of team skills in nonclinical settings. SPSS PASW Version 20 was used for data analysis. Methods included descriptive and inferential statistics and linear regression.

RESULTS: Student performance on knowledge assessment was typical for TBL activities; average responses were in the 50% range for the IRAT scores and in the 80% range for the TRAT scores. A between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant difference in IRAT performance on the basis of profession in each of the three sessions. TRAT scores were significantly higher than IRAT scores in each of the three sessions, with averages ranging from 80% to 83% correct. Student perceptions of teamwork competency ranged from 4.86 to 4.90/5.00. There was a significant association between scores on the TRAT and student evaluation of teamwork; those teams with higher levels of team variables performed better on the TRAT. Linear regression revealed a statistically significant association between one variable (exceptional contribution) and the mean TRAT score.

CONCLUSION: Results suggest that TBL can be an effective means of IPE in knowledge areas and application of teamwork skills. It is important to note that TBL is not faculty resource intensive. Other educational programs may consider the adoption of TBL for promoting interprofessional learning in large health science college settings.