Abstract :
Medical students acquire professional training in interprofessional education, which enables them with the information, abilities, attitudes, and professionalism necessary to foster interprofessional clinical practice and healthcare. It is important to consider students' attitudes and readiness while implementing Interprofessional education (IPE) in health education programs. The objective of the current study was to assess the readiness for interprofessional education among MBBS and BDS preclinical students at a private medical university. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional review borad. The present study was a cross-sectional study with purposive sampling method. Preclinical MBBS and BDS students were given the Readiness for Inter-Professional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire after informed consent as part of the study. This study included 307 preclinical students. Among them, 183 were from the MBBS program and 124 were from the BDS program. In our study, the mean RIPLS scores for MBBS and BDS students were found to be 4.15 and 4.0, respectively. The mean scores for the subscales of teamwork and collaboration for MBBS and BDS were 4.46 and 4.34, respectively. Both professional groups showed readiness for IPE scoring high (83%) in understanding the importance of teamwork and collaboration. 91% of participants agreed that shared learning is crucial, demonstrating their readiness for IPE. 73% of the participants could identify the negative professional identity. In terms of roles and responsibilities, 8% of respondents said they were unsure about their professional roles, and 46 % stated they needed to develop their skill set. The study's findings indicated that preclinical MBBS and BDS students showed readiness for IPE. This may be a significant factor in emphasizing the importance of IPE in the early preclinical stages of medical and dental programs..
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