Promoting Hearing Health Collaboration Through an Interprofessional Education Experience.

Purpose: To enhance audiology and physician assistant (PA) student appreciation for collaboration/team-based care through an interprofessional educational activity focused on hearing assessments.

Method: A total of 18 students from Louisiana State University Health-New Orleans's audiology and PA programs participated in an optional interprofessional education learning opportunity, which included a demonstration of hearing assessments. To assess student perspectives regarding interprofessional learning, the students completed pre- and post-surveys.

Results: Eighteen students completed a survey, including 5 questions using a Likert scale and 1 open-ended question. Both audiology and PA students demonstrated significant statistical improvement in 2 interprofessional competencies: roles/responsibilities and interprofessional communication. Students also reported increased awareness and knowledge in the skills of the opposite professions as related to hearing assessments.

Conclusion: Integrating interprofessional education experiences within an audiology program promotes collaborative practice patterns and supports new educational accreditation standards.

Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5491669.