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Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Background: Healthcare systems are complex linkages, and efficient interprofessional collaboration is essential to their efficiency, safety, and quality. The ability of medical students to collaborate across professions directly impacts future healthcare delivery practices. Physical education programmes provide a simple and easy way for medical students to develop interprofessional collaboration that can be translated into future team performance in clinical settings. To test the effectiveness of the physical education programme "competition instead of examination" in improving the teamwork ability of medical students.

Method: Using a quasi-experimental intervention design, 188 students were recruited from five classes to complete a teamwork scale consisting of four sub-dimensions, namely, personal characteristics, teamwork, leadership, and conflict management. Before and after the course, we examined the effect of a 16-week cheerleading programme on the subjects' ability to improve their teamwork skills, and compared the non-winning students (n=102) with the winning students (n=86) in order to measure the effect of teamwork skills on team performance.

Results: With 188 students participating in the course and 179 students effectively completing the scale posttest, overall teamwork scores (mean score of 4.81 on the pre-test and 5.05 on the posttest, p < 0.001) and scores on the four subdimensions were statistically significant from pre- to post-intervention. Of the 44 self-efficacy items on the scale, 22 significantly improved. Students who did not win the competition remained statistically significant compared to those who won (mean score of 4.86 for non-winners and 5.14 for winners, p < 0.01), with no differences for personal characteristics. Significance was observed for the 3 subdimensions of teamwork, leadership, and conflict management, and a significant increase in 13 out of 44 self-efficacy items on the scale.

Conclusions: A "competition instead of examination" physical education programme improved medical students' teamwork skills. Teamwork skills are conducive to increased team performance, and team sports competitions provide a quantifiable method for improving medical students' interprofessional teamwork skills.

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