Aug 2026· PLoS ONE· Vol 21, pp. e0355722 - e0355722· 0 citations· 39 references
Medicine
TL;DR
Sustainable IPL requires organizational structures that enable regular interaction among professionals, inclusive team cultures, and collaborative leadership that ensures that learning continues even as staff members change, and that essential knowledge is retained in hospital-based clinical practice, so that patients receive care based on their needs.
Abstract
Introduction Effective collaboration depends on mutual understanding of professional roles and responsibilities, making sustainable interprofessional learning (IPL) an integral part of hospital clinical practice. In this context, learning and collaboration reinforce one another and ultimately support better patient outcomes. However, the factors influencing IPL in hospital settings are not yet clearly understood. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify facilitators of, and barriers to, IPL in hospital-based clinical practice, focusing on nurses and physiotherapists. Method This scoping review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework. A systematic literature search was conducted in three databases: PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus, from inception to July 2026. Inclusion criteria were empirical scientific articles focusing on facilitators and barriers to IPL, applicable to adult hospital settings and including both nursing and physiotherapy perspectives. Grey literature, studies evaluating specific educational interventions or conducted in clinical settings with dedicated IPL initiatives beyond routine daily practice, and studies conducted in paediatric, maternity, or psychiatric settings were excluded. The database search yielded 1,973 articles, of which 11 were included following screening of 33 full-text articles. Results The included studies identified a range of facilitators to IPL including factors that supported socialization and familiarization (n = 6), building a positive team climate (n = 5), and conducive organizational structures (n = 10). Barriers included limiting structural prerequisites (n = 5), constraining interprofessional interactions (n = 4), and non-conducive prevailing workplace culture (n = 5). Conclusion Sustainable IPL requires organizational structures that enable regular interaction among professionals, inclusive team cultures, and collaborative leadership. This ensures that learning continues even as staff members change, and that essential knowledge is retained in hospital-based clinical practice, so that patients receive care based on their needs. This review may therefore support hospitals and educational organizations in creating conditions that support the systematic integration of IPL into both education and clinical practice and thereby sustain IPL and collaboration between nurses and physiotherapists.
OBJECTIVES
Interprofessional collaboration is essential in intensive care units, where care is complex and highly demanding. However, overlapping tasks and responsibilities may create unclear professional boundaries between nurses and physicians and nursing roles. This review aimed to map international research on interprofessional collaboration between physicians and nursing professionals in ICUs, with a focus on task and responsibility sharing and the description of nursing roles within collaborative practice.
METHODS
This scoping review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library in February 2026. Additionally, reference lists of included studies were screened. Publications addressing interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians in intensive care settings were eligible for inclusion.
RESULTS
34 publications were included, most of which used qualitative study designs. Interprofessional collaboration was shaped by cultural, structural and action-related factors, as well as nursing roles. Key cultural influences included trust, respect, familiarity, and hierarchy. Structural factors comprised rounds, formal interprofessional discussions, and protocols. Action-related factors included communication and decision-making. Nursing roles were context-dependent and often described as constrained within interprofessional exchange, despite nurses' valuable contributions and their reported desire for more active roles. Evidence of concrete task allocation was limited, although protocol-supported nursing autonomy was reported.
CONCLUSIONS
The results highlight that cultural and structural components are inseparable from agency: structures shape action, while agency continuously transforms those structures. This interplay is embodied when structured collaborative formats and shared mental models enable nurses to actively clarify roles and strengthen participation, thereby transforming interprofessional collaboration from within.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
Intensive care practice may benefit from implementing shared mental models and structured collaborative formats, such as formal interprofessional discussions, rounding checklists, and protocols that support greater autonomy for nurses.
Joseph Hornung, Henrikje Stanze, Clara Rynas et al.· Intensive & Critical Care Nu...· 0 citations
Background Respiratory therapists (RTs) are essential members of multidisciplinary respiratory and critical care teams, yet their contributions to interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice remain less well characterized than those of many other health professions. This narrative review aimed to synthesize current evidence regarding RT-inclusive IPE, educational outcomes, implementation models, and remaining research gaps. # Methods This review followed Ferrari’s narrative review framework. Literature searches were conducted in PubMed, ERIC, ProQuest, and supplementary sources from database inception through September 2025. Studies were eligible if they involved RTs or respiratory therapy students and addressed interprofessional education, interprofessional learning, collaborative practice, or team-based healthcare delivery. # Results Seventeen records published between 2013 and 2025 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies originated from North America and were conducted in educational settings. Simulation-based learning was the predominant IPE strategy. RT-inclusive IPE was associated with improvements in teamwork, interprofessional communication, role clarification, collaborative competence, mechanical ventilation knowledge, and clinical preparedness. Clinical reports also described valuable RT contributions in neonatal care, primary care teams, and intensive care recovery clinics. However, RT perspectives remained underrepresented in curriculum development, research priority-setting, and outcome evaluation. Common implementation barriers included scheduling constraints, curricular overload, logistical challenges, and limited faculty resources. # Conclusion Current evidence suggests that RT-inclusive IPE strengthens collaborative competencies and supports team-based respiratory care. Future research should incorporate standardized outcome measures, longitudinal evaluation, RT-specific indicators, and greater involvement of RT educators and clinicians in the design, implementation, and assessment of interprofessional education initiatives.
Yi-Heng Chen, Y. Chuang, T. Chen· Canadian journal of respirat...· 0 citations
Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and intraprofessional collaboration (IntraPC) are core competencies in interprofessional education (IPE), but resident physicians often encounter difficulties in practice. Understanding residents' perceptions of IPE is essential for developing effective education. This scoping review aims to map and synthesize existing literature on residents' perceptions of IPE. A systematic search was conducted on the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. The selection process followed the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) framework. Data from eligible studies were extracted and analyzed thematically. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria from 337 identified articles. Thematic analysis revealed four interrelated main themes regarding residents' perceptions of IPE. These themes included "knowledge, skills, and attitudes," as well as implications for medical education that highlight the urgent need for a formal, structured, and longitudinal IPE curriculum, utilizing methods such as simulation and discussion- based learning. Residents' perceptions of IPE are characterized by tension between cultural barriers and systematic drivers of collaboration. The gap between these barriers and drivers of collaboration underscores the need for residency programs to proactively integrate ongoing IPE training to prepare residents for collaborative challenges in clinical practice.
D. Wardhana, I. Yusuf, S. As'ad et al.· Korean Journal of Medical Ed...· 0 citations
It is demonstrated that a single, well-designed interprofessional simulation session can yield meaningful educational benefits, with potential downstream benefits for patient safety in critical-care environments.
Niall Brown, Samuel Wilson, Mathieu Figeys et al.· Health Education in Practice...· 0 citations
Introduction Interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians is essential for effective patient care, safe clinical workflows, and patient-centered outcomes. Despite its importance, interprofessional knowledge is insufficiently integrated into German medical education, potentially limiting students’ readiness for collaborative practice and their understanding of professional roles in clinical settings. This study explored how medical students perceive nurses’ work, nursing-related learning experiences, and interprofessional collaboration and Role Understanding within undergraduate medical education. Methods Fourteen medical students (1st–6th year) at the University of Magdeburg participated in semi-structured interviews recruited using purposive sampling to ensure variation across study years. Transcripts were analyzed using Mayring’s qualitative content analysis to identify categories and themes. Analytical rigor was ensured through independent coding and interdisciplinary validation in a research workshop. Results Seven themes were identified: Interprofessional Collaboration and Role Understanding, First Clinical Experiences, Nursing During the Practicum, Nursing-Related Learning Experiences During Medical School, Desired Nursing-Related Learning Experiences, Importance of Nursing, and Patient Well-being. The mandatory nursing practicum emerged as a key formative experience shaping early interprofessional role understanding. Students reported variability in supervision and structure, alongside limited curricular integration of nursing content. While interprofessional collaboration was considered essential, participants expressed uncertainty regarding nursing roles and responsibilities and emphasized the need for structured opportunities for interprofessional and nursing-related learning, including clinical skills, communication, and management of complex patient situations. Conclusion Medical students’ perceptions of nursing are strongly shaped by early and variably structured clinical experiences, particularly the nursing internship. The findings suggest that current medical curricula insufficiently support the systematic development of interprofessional role understanding. The structured integration of nursing-related learning experiences and explicit teaching about nursing roles, nursing-related practical skills and clinical workflows into medical education may strengthen interprofessional collaboration and support patient-centered care.
Lukas Valerius, Jonathan Hagedorn, Christian Albert et al.· Frontiers in Medicine· 0 citations
Background: The clinical learning environment (CLE) in primary care is increasingly recognised as critical to undergraduate medical education. However, its design and implementation are shaped by multiple interdependent factors, such as mentorship, autonomy, relationships and logistics, which make it a complex challenge.
Aim: This study aimed to map the literature on the contributing factors to conducive CLE for medical students in primary care settings, identify enablers and obstacles and strategies for improvement.
Setting: Primary care clinical learning environments, including community health centres, primary healthcare clinics, general practices, and district hospitals involved in undergraduate medical education.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist. Four databases were searched with no language or date restrictions. Articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Data were charted using Gruppen’s conceptual framework and thematically synthesised.
Results: A total of 34 articles were included. Common enablers included effective mentorship, student autonomy, positive interpersonal relationships, organisational alignment and supportive infrastructure. Obstacles included inadequate space, transport constraints, authoritarian teaching styles and a lack of student agency. Few articles proposed solutions, and many challenges were systemic and persistent. The CLE in primary care emerged as a wicked problem – a complex, context-sensitive issue involving multiple stakeholders without a definitive solution.
Conclusion: A conducive CLE in primary care requires coordinated, multilevel strategies that address both human and structural domains. Isolated interventions are unlikely to produce lasting change.
Contribution: This review highlights the CLE in primary care as a wicked problem and provides a framework for developing systemic, adaptive responses to support medical education in diverse contexts.
Owen O. Eales, H. Brits, I. Lubbe et al.· African Journal of Primary H...· 0 citations