CLARION Debrief Sessions: Enhancing Interprofessional Collaboration through Student-Led Reflections

CLARION (CLinician Administrator Relationship Improvement OrganizatioN ) is a student-led, faculty-advised organization within the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs at the University of Minnesota. It aims to improve interprofessional student collaboration, one way being through interprofessional case competitions that focus on current health issues. In the case competitions, the Debrief Sessions have a unique design and play a significant role in relationship-building and future improvement.

These sessions are student-led reflections immediately after each team presentation. CLARION sends its student board members as team liaisons to facilitate these reflections. The liaisons reach out to their teams weeks ahead of competition day as primary contacts and keep close relationships with their teams throughout the competition. During the sessions, team liaisons ask open-ended questions and guide the discussion. This design is beneficial for several reasons:

1) Participants have established a relationship with the liaison and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts; 2) since the majority of liaisons have previously participated in competition, they can connect with the participants’ experiences; and 3) after an intense presentation, participants are enthusiastic to share their experiences. Through a discussion rather than a survey, the CLARION Board receives immediate, authentic reflections from participants.

To enhance these sessions, the CLARION Board has revised the questions for the 2019 competition. Previously, there were 9 questions in total with 3 required questions and 6 electives. In 2019, all the 10 questions were electives, providing liaisons more flexibility in guiding the discussion based on each team’s unique experience. New questions were written according to the IPEC Competencies to address the interprofessional nature of the experience. Moreover, the revised questions are more focused on team rather than personal experiences, emphasizing the collaboration that is core to this experience. As a result, CLARION has received valuable feedback that will inform changes in the 2020 competition. Teams have also become more connected after the sessions, where they get to appreciate each other’s hard work and bring up constructive advice together. From the success of the revised Debrief Sessions, we can see that both the reflections and the way to collect reflections are significant for quality interprofessional education.