Journal of dental hygiene : JDH
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to apply a quality improvement model in the application of an intraprofessional educational experience by improving student perceptions of collaboration and increasing the number of collaborative experiences within the dental hygiene curriculum. Methods: A quality improvement model, Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), was used to initiate an intraprofessional education experience for dental hygiene and dental students. Faculty members utilized the PDSA worksheet to plan, implement, and analyze the educational experience. ⋯ Dental hygiene faculty applied the information gained from the assessments as part of the IHI PDSA cycle for improvement in health care to evaluate and plan for future learning experiences. Conclusion: Meaningful intraprofessional education experiences between dental hygiene and dental students support collaborative practice skills and should be integrated into dental and dental hygiene curricula. Applying a continuous quality improvement model, such as the IHI PDSA, can assist educators in planning, implementing, and evaluating curricular changes in order to improve student learning outcomes.