Comparison of Inter-professional Attitudes Between Nursing and Medical Students: A Cross-sectional

Abstract

Background: Today, inter-professional attitudes and collaboration significantly impact health outcomes and the achievement of desirable treatment results, as emphasized in various studies. Therefore, examining the inter-professional attitudes of medical students, as future workforce members, is of great importance for appropriate planning. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the inter-professional attitudes of nursing and medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among nursing and medical students at the Faculty of Medical Sciences in 2024. The study participants consisted of medical interns and eighth-semester nursing students who were selected through a convenience sampling. The study tool was the Standard Questionnaire for Assessing Health Team Members' Attitudes Towards Inter-Professional Skills (AHPQ), completed by the sample after obtaining the necessary permissions. Data were analyzed using SPSS16 software and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Results: A total of 145 questionnaires were completed. The results indicated a statistically significant difference in the component of subservience between medical and nursing students (P < 0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in the component of caring between the two groups (P > 0.05). Additionally, there were statistically significant differences between medical and nursing students in the items of confident/vulnerable (P = 0.02), technically focused/not technically focused (P = 0.015), independent/not independent (P = 0.0001), and well paid/poorly paid (P = 0.01). Conclusions: It can be concluded that the state of inter-professional attitudes varied based on the type of variable examined between medical and nursing students. One of the effective factors in improving inter-professional attitudes among students was the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, topics such as independence, salary, techniques and professional rules, and vulnerability need further investigation. Moreover, these aspects should be considered in educational planning.