Medical and nursing students’ interprofessional feedback orientations: transitioning from classroom to workplace education

We investigated how medical and nursing students’ perceptions of interprofessional teamwork and feedback orientations change as they transition from classroom to workplace learning. Participants were undergraduate 5th-year medical and 4th-year nursing students in the workplace phase of their training, enrolled in an interprofessional feedback intervention. At three time points (week 1 and 2 classroom; week 14 workplace), we measured students: Dual-role Feedback Orientation, Interprofessional Teamwork Valuing, and Definition of the Interprofessional Team. Analyses of variance were used to identify changes over time. Of the 538 (46%) students who responded in week 1, 65 followed up at the other two time points. Students consistently valued interprofessional teamwork and viewed feedback they received as important for their development. However, students’ utility as feedback givers significantly dropped in the workplace. Self-efficacy in using and giving feedback was lower than other variables but stable over training phases. Accountability to give and use feedback increased in the classroom and was sustained in the workplace. The decline in feedback giver utility suggests a negative workplace effect, possibly due to a lack of opportunities to practice giving feedback. Future efforts should focus on supporting students in maintaining their interprofessional feedback skills during the transition from classroom to workplace.