Measuring individual competencies and team performance in clinical learning settings of interprofessional collaborative practice: Empirical development of the Interprofessional Ward Round Individual and Team Assessment Tool (IP-VITA)

Background: Interprofessional training wards (IPTW) can contribute to the development of interprofessional competencies. In order to evaluate the acquisition of competencies, instruments are needed that record both team performance and individual competencies in the clinical teaching setting in third -party assessment. This paper describes the Interprofessional Ward Round Individual and Team Assessment-Tool, IP-VITA ("Interprofessionelle Visiten Individual und Team Assessment Tool") and its development.Method: Based on the empirical exploration of the three observation instruments "Teamwork Assessment Scale" (TAS), "McMaster-Ottawa Scale" and "Individual Teamwork Observation and Feedback Tool" (iTOFT) in at least four rounds each at the HIPSTA (with n = 8 students and trainees each), a preliminary version of the IP-VITA was created. This preliminary version was then refined in subsequent empirical steps: a consensual validation in the research team was followed by a "member check"with the clinical colleagues of the HIPSTA, the input from external experts and an empirical test in an alternative setting. Results: The IP-VITA is an empirically developed multimodal instrument to assess the interprofessional competencies of trainees and students as well as their team performance in clinical settings with patient interaction. It comprises three parts. In part A, structural data, the persons involved and the essential patient characteristics are recorded. Part B consists of 12 items and a free-text field for recording behaviour at the individual level. Part C also consists of 12 items and evaluates behaviour at team level.Discussion: The IP-VITA instrument was developed specifically for the context of evaluating interprofessional ward rounds in a clinical educational setting. The instrument takes into account the ambiguous position of the assessment of interprofessional collaboration between individual competence and team performance. Beyond the HIPSTA, it can be used as a formative assessment instrument, and it may also be useful for summative assessments.