The effect of problem-solving-based interprofessional learning on critical thinking and satisfaction with learning of nursing and midwifery students

INTRODUCTION: Problem-solving skills and learner-centered approaches provide students with the ability to solve health challenges by placing them in simulated situations. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inter-professional learning based on problem-solving on critical thinking (CT) and satisfaction with learning experience in nursing and midwifery students. METHODS: This quazi-experimental study of a single group used pretest-posttest design. 20 undergraduate nursing and 28 midwifery students at the final academic year participated in the study. The research intervention was interprofessional learning based on problem-solving conducted in five 2-h training sessions. California's CT Scale and 10-point visual analog scale were used to measure CT skills and satisfaction with learning before and after the intervention. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS software version 23 using descriptive statistics and paired t-test. RESULTS: The findings of this study indicated that the mean score of students' CT before the intervention was poor, while it statistically significant increased after the intervention (P < 0.05). It was also found that students' satisfaction with learning, in the scale of 0-10, was reported from 5 to 9 indicating students had a high level of satisfaction with their learning experience. DISCUSSION: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the interprofessional education based on problem-solving has been able to significantly enhance the overall critical skills of students, especially in the dimensions of analysis, inference, and deductive reasoning, and also, students' satisfaction with learning experience was also increased.