(PO-031) Interprofessional Training of Dental Graduates: Outcomes and Career Implications

Presenter: Michelle Zhou, M.A. – UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry
Presenter: Dana K. English, Ed.D., MS, RDH – Office of the Dean, Assistant Dean, UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry
Presenter: Andrea Berndt, Ph.D., M.S., B.S. – UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry
Presenter: Moshtagh R. Farokhi, DDS, MPH – Associate Professor/Clinical, UTHealth HSC Houston School of Dentistry
Submitter: Michelle Zhou, M.A. – UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry

Objective: ADEA in 2018 reported that 82% of dental seniors improved their ability to patient care if exposed to interprofessional education (IPE) interactions during their training.
IPE training has occurred at the San Antonio Refugee Health Clinic (SARHC-IPE) outside formal curricula or co-curricular. SARHC is a collaborative IPE between the University of Texas Health at San Antonio schools of dentistry, medicine, and nursing. We questioned if dental school interprofessional training played a role in future patient care and professional career development of graduates.
 

Methods: Dental, dental hygiene, and pre-dental volunteers (N = 52) who attended SARHC-IPE from 2011-2021 were probed about their IPE, service learning and cultural humility training, with 80.8% (n = 42) completing the survey.  Written responses to open-ended questions included SARHC-IPE experiential learning. The survey also examined SARHC’s outcomes regarding the participants’ residency placement and career choices.
 

Results: 69% (n= 29/42) reported SARHC-IPE training was discussed during their interviews, however, the rate of participants discussing SAHRC-IPE training at interviews was significantly higher among the 2016-2021 cohort (n=18, 86%) than for the 2011-2015 cohort (n=3, 14.3%),c2 (1, 33) = 9.43, p=.002. Moreover, the later cohort also reported significantly more favorable IPE clinical problem solving (p=.001), competence working in an IPE team (p = .03), greater understanding of the role of nurses and physicians (p = .03) and benefits from working with faculty and preceptors from medicine and nursing (p = .033) than did participants in the earlier cohort.
 

Conclusion: As SARHC-IPE training has expanded since 2011, so has participant perceived outcomes. IPE opportunities during dental training can positively influence patient management approaches and lead to ideal residencies and career outcomes. As one commented, “SARHC helped land me the job. After I spoke of SARHC, I was offered the job on the spot without any further interview.”