Abstract
Background
Interprofessional education (IPE) provides students with opportunities to consider the impact of effective collaboration on patient outcomes. Socializing beyond one’s own profession in an interprofessional team challenges the social identity theory that postulates favoring those within the same group, or, in this case, the same health profession. The social identities that learners form before entering a degree program may impact team socialization. We describe how students considered their social identities while interacting in an interprofessional team and engaging with patients in experiential patient-centered learning.
Methods
Students (n=139) representing 11 health professions worked in interprofessional teams to interview patients about living with chronic illness. Students reflected on how their social identities may impact team and patient interactions before and after the interviews. Responses from the written student reflections were collected for data analysis.
Results
Before the interviews, students reported that social identities may be advantageous for teamwork, allow for diverse perspectives, raise cultural awareness, provide relatability with patients, and bring awareness to biases. Following interviews, students reported increased awareness of their own, peers’, and patients’ social identities.
Conclusions
Intentionally encouraging students to reflect on their social identities and how these influence collaboration with peers and patients contributed to their interprofessional socialization.