Emma Bartle^1,2
Anne Hill³, Jodie Copley³, Rebecca Olson⁴, Tessa Barnett^2,3, Ruth Dunwoodie³ and Karen Luetsch⁵
1 School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia
2 School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland
3 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland
4 School of Social Science, The University of Queensland
5 School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland

At a broad level, interprofessional education aims to achieve a social change agenda by improving teamwork and lessening power relationships within healthcare teams (Olson 2015). To achieve this, future health professionals must be prepared with skills to meet the social, emotional and interpersonal demands of interprofessional practice (IPP). The VOTIS (Video Observation Tool for Interprofessional Skills) was developed to foster reflexive dispositional learning of interprofessional skills, informed by theories of socio-personal learning and a novel video-based methodology (Hill et al 2023; Olson et al 2023). Feedback from the initial pilot indicated the need for further tool refinement to increase utility. 

The VOTIS was refined through a two-stage process. A Clinical Educator Reference Group was formed to establish content validity. Interrater reliability was established and the revised tool piloted across a range of contexts. Student and educator feedback was collected through surveys and focus groups. 

Students reported the use of structured reflection on their IPP skills improved their awareness of their own communication with team members and led to behaviour change. Clinical educators indicated the VOTIS provided a structured framework to deliver constructive feedback to support interprofessional student learning and skill development. 

The VOTIS addresses a gap in existing IP assessment by focusing on interactions of students engaged in non-contact interactions, such as case conferences, treatment planning, and debriefing. Existing tools focus on team interactions with patients, however development of IP skills often occurs when students are not with patients and it is in these situations that additional issues of power and conflict may emerge. 

The VOTIS incorporates video to provide observational data about students’ IP skills that articulates into discipline-specific tools for formative assessment. The significance of this tool lies in its ability to assess students’ IPP using evidence of observable behaviours. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Olson, R. (2015). How would an egalitarian health care system operate? Power and conflict in interprofessional education. Medical Education. 2015;49(4):353–354. doi: 10.1111/medu.12686 

2. Hill AE, Bartle E, Copley JA, Olson R, Dunwoodie R, Barnett T et al. The VOTIS, part 1: development and pilot trial of a tool to assess students’ interprofessional skill development using video-reflexive ethnography. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 2023;37(2):223-231. Epub 2022 Apr 11. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2022.2052270 

3. Olson RE, Copley JA, Bartle E, Hill AE, Barnett T, Dunwoodie R et al. The VOTIS, part 2: Using a video-reflexive assessment activity to foster dispositional learning in interprofessional education. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 2023;37(2):232-239. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2022.2037531