Introduction Recently, educators advocated for interprofessional education to better prepare entry-level healthcare workers for efficient, effective, and respectful teamwork to lower the cost of healthcare and improve the delivery of collaborative quality patient care. This article describes the results of an educational program evaluation of an interprofessional class (IPC) taught over a five-year period between nursing and occupational therapy (OT) departments at a small private university.

Methods During the IPC sessions, a small group of nursing and OT students observed a simulated patient care scenario in which a nursing and an OT student provided care related to their respective discipline. Faculty-guided group discussions and post-debriefing deepened students’ learning.

Results Data collected from the IPC post-session evaluation forms revealed immediate improvement in knowledge of overlapping and distinct roles of the two disciplines, and a deeper appreciation of ways to respectfully communicate with patients and healthcare workers to reduce duplication of efforts and facilitate continuity in patient care.