O’Brien, B., Little, J. W., Rivera, J., & Wiedinmyer, B.
Using interaction analysis to examine interprofessional learning among health professionals
Health professionals work in complex environments that increasingly demand shared understanding of patients’ needs, coordination of efforts to meet those needs, and effective communication. Most health professions’ educational programs include curricular activities to prepare professionals to practice in these complex environments, but the processes by which learning occurs during these activities are not well understood. Research examining the relationship between the design of interprofessional curricular activities and the interactions that occur among professionals while participating in these activities can help inform and improve future design of curricula to support interprofessional practice. This paper describes interaction analysis, a research method well suited to the type of research needed in interprofessional education and practice. After providing a brief account of the origins and applications of interaction analysis, the authors describe how they designed and employed analytic procedures aligned with interaction analysis to examine learning opportunities afforded by an interprofessional simulated patient exercise.
Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 2016, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 403-427, DOI: 10.4473/TPM23.4.1
