A 2023 Interprofessional Practice survey from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) noted that speech-language pathology respondents learned interprofessional practice skills on the job and were mostly self-taught. SLP graduate programs need to incorporate interprofessional education into the curriculum and students need to demonstrate attainment of professional standards.
To address this need, 15 first year speech-language pathology graduate students consented to participate in a yearlong IPE curriculum. First, students completed asynchronous learning modules focused on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies. Students completed a baseline reflection, developed a goal with action steps, and completed the SPICE-R2.
For the baseline reflection, students were asked how they plan to incorporate the core competencies into clinical practice. Students indicated that they strive for effective communication, want to value diversity, and aim to be open-minded about collaboration.
The first interprofessional education experience was a live-action simulation in collaboration with social work students. Students were paired together to navigate a complex case. When reflecting on how they incorporated the core competencies into clinical practice, students reported that they remained within their scope of practice, collaborated with their partner, maintained ethics, and used effective communication.
This research project is ongoing with students participating in another interprofessional education learning experience in the spring 2025 semester with counseling students where they will develop a comprehensive plan of care and think critically about their interprofessional collaboration meetings to address the needs of their assigned client.