The Lived Experience of Female Nurse Graduates of Interprofessional Education Transitioning to Clinical Practice

The need for nurses to be collaborative and practice-ready upon entering the profession has never been more important than it is today. The Institute of Medicine has identified that teamwork and collaboration should be essential parts of the nursing curriculum to prepare nurses to be ready to manage patient care with a team-based approach. The literature supports the idea that by learning out of silos and bringing students together from all different pre-professional programs, the professional working environment can be mirrored and the processes of collaboration and communication within teams can start. Transition into practice has been studied for decades regarding the “burnout” and “reality shock” that result from the experience. However, no literature has been uncovered that has investigated the nurses’ experiences of transitioning into practice after receiving an interprofessional education. The present study used Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological perspective and vanManen’s phenomenological research method to illuminate the experiences of nurses transitioning into practice after having IPE. Ten practicing nurses who had received IPE were interviewed about their experiences transitioning into practice. Each participant shared stories about her transition period into professional practice. Through the process of reading and rereading transcripts, four essential themes emerged that shed light on the transition into practice after receiving IPE: (a) Understanding Team Dynamics, (b) Competent and Responsive Communicators, (c) Valuing Team Members, and (d) Recognized Self-Readiness. For this study, the lived experience of nurses who transitioned into practice after receiving an education with an IPE curriculum and practice is one of understanding team dynamics as competent and responsive communicators, valuing team members, and recognizing self-readiness. Interprofessional education does not have to occur only with students in nursing, medicine, or other allied health programs. Being creative with multiple programs at any institution can enrich students’ education by developing their communication and collaboration skills and adding quality and scope to their education experiences while preparing them for the real-world environment.