Background and Objectives: With the recent paradigm shift in medicine away from traditional hierarchies and patient-physician dyads, there is increased interest in training students to work interprofessionally. A primary focus for improving collaboration in health care is increasing exposure to formalized interprofessional education (IPE) across health professions during training. This study focuses on the effect of formal and informal curricula on medical student attitudes toward IPE.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all undergraduate medical students was conducted using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS).

Results: Throughout all years of medical school, students agreed with the importance of interprofessional education. Fourth-year medical students had higher total RIPLS scores (64.29 versus 61.0; p=0.007), as well as higher scores on multiple individual RIPLS questions than first-year students.

Conclusions: Medical students become more enthusiastic about IPE as their training progresses. Both formal and informal educational opportunities contribute to this effect.