64 Chapter 4 Reflexivity The research team in this study consists of one sociologist, three medical doctors and two clinical specialists. The team was carefully assembled to balance out the different perspectives. All medical doctors were experienced in research in medical education and qualitative research methods and/or were closely involved in the guidance of medical and nursing students in clinical practice or in training setting. Having clinical specialists on the team helped to understand the experiences of students with IPC from the perspective of clinicians, while having a sociologist on the team aided in the interpretation the data from a perspective different from that of medical doctors. One medical doctor who participated in this study (CT), conducted all interviews. She also taught the students included in this research. Being the teacher enabled interpreting the data and events the students described. Mentoring students during their internships for the last years, helped knowing students’ struggles and experiences in clinical practice, and helped to understand students’ language and the way they expressed themselves. To lower the chance of socially desirable answers, we informed the participants verbally and in the informed consent letter that the research and interviews were completely separate from, and had no influence on, the regular program. During the interviews, the interviewer also reassured and encouraged students, verbally and non-verbally, if they talked about negative opinions or experiences. In addition, all codes were discussed with another member of the team and the themes were finalized by the full research team. RESULTS Nine nursing students (7 female, 2 male) and thirteen medical students (6 female, 7 male) were interviewed up to 15 minutes per interview. Data sufficiency was reached after these 22 interviews. Influence of IPE on perceptions According to the research question, the effect of IPE in classroom setting on students’ perceptions of IPC in clinical practice, was the focus of this study. As described in the methods section, students talked about what aspect from the IPE-sessions they will take with them or what they will remember, when they participate in clinical practice. These experienced effects of IPE were categorised into four themes: Exchange of discipline-specific knowledge, general knowledge about one’s own and the other one’s responsibilities, reduction of hierarchy, and improvement in patient care. These themes were related to each other. Their similarities and differences will be discussed
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