Stakeholders' opinion on interprofessional education and collaboration in health professi̇onals' education

The aim of this study is to examine the views of faculty members and students, who are the components of health education, about interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and interprofessional education (IPE). Qualitative research method was used in the study, which allows the subjective perceptions of individuals to be revealed with a realistic and holistic perspective. The data are in-depth with 47 faculty members from universities in Ankara that have graduated in the field of health sciences; It was obtained from focus group interviews with 35 senior students. Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data obtained from the study. The findings were created by classifying the themes that emerged as a result of the content analysis of the participants' audio recording transcriptions and presented in two separate sections as opinions on IPC and IPE. Participants argue that collaborative and team approaches among healthcare professional groups will provide patient-oriented, qualified and safe healthcare. Gaining knowledge, skills and attitudes towards cooperation of students in the field of health; The opinion is that interprofessional education is an important way to develop collaboration by applying these gains and to overcome the miscommunication and prejudice between different professional groups. It was recommended that administrative support and appropriate physical conditions should be provided for interprofessional education practices, faculty members should lead the change, common goals and objectives should be determined together with different departments, starting from the early period, teaching methods and techniques that provide opportunities for students to interact with each other where they are active, and content should be determined based on common competencies and national disease burden components. As a result, although the experience with IPE programs is limited, students and faculty are highly motivated about IPE programs. For effective and sustainable IPE programs, it is important to benefit from the experiences and opinions of the stakeholders of the process, such as students and faculty members, and to be the driving force in the dissemination of the IPE programs of health authorities, accreditation bodies, health education and professional associations. In addition, for MAE to be included in faculty programs, to be acceptable and sustainable, common sense must be exercised in the context of the local needs, taking into account the justifications, necessary resources, motivations and challenges.