Interprofessional Collaboration: A Catalyst for Motivation for Health Students?[La collaboration interprofessionnelle : un catalyseur de motivation pour les étudiants en santé ?]

Objectives Health students are experiencing distress in a context transforming rapidly. This state of malaise leads to a loss of motivation. Our research aims to verify if learning interprofessional collaboration can foster a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) that stimulates and supports the motivation to provide care. To explore this issue, we relied on an interprofessional training program in the palliative care sector, bringing together students in nursing, physiotherapy, and medicine. The objective of this program was to put students in a situation where they could collectively develop a care plan. The debriefing following this session focused on the conditions required to develop interprofessional collaboration, with the conative dimension being a major component (Aiguier, 2020). Method Our research uses a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with six students. Quantitative data were collected from a questionnaire administered before (T0) and after (T1) the program (n = 156 participants). The interviews were analyzed by using conceptual categories, and the quantitative data were processed using various statistical tests (Student's t-test, Pearson's r, and Cronbach's alpha). Results Data analysis shows that such a program supports the motivation to provide care. We found positive correlations between social belonging, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and the sense of collective and personal efficacy. This echoes the heuristic model of individually motivated collectives (Heutte, 2019). It reveals the early stages of a community of practice. Thus, the program serves as a catalyst for motivation. Conclusion This research suggests a pedagogical re-engineering of health training programs. By integrating more interprofessional approaches, we can enhance the well-being of future healthcare professionals.