Impact of an Inaugural Interprofessional Education Session Among Multidisciplinary Healthcare Students: A Mixed Methods Study from the United Arab Emirates

Purpose: This study assessed attitudes and perception of medicine, dental, pharmacy and nursing students toward their first interprofessional education (IPE), compared interprofessional attitudes scores with demographic characteristics, and evaluated session feedback to identify areas for improvements. Methods: A mixed method study was conducted among healthcare students participating in an introductory IPE session. The interprofessional attitudes Scale (IPAS) was administered pre-session to evaluate baseline attitudes. Post-session, quantitative feedback was collected and analyzed using non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis). Quantitative data were obtained through structured discussions with nine facilitators (Medicine/Dentistry/Pharmacy), recorded and analyzed until thematic saturation was reached. Results: Among 218 respondents (Dentistry 30%, Nursing 25.3%, Medicine 22.6%, Pharmacy 21.2%), 88% had no prior IPE exposure. Median IPAS scores were positive (IQR-5), with significant variations by discipline, cumulative GPA, and academic year (p<0.001). Post session, the “community-Centeredness” domain showed significant improvement (p<0.001). Student feedback (n=131) yielded median satisfactory scores of 52 (IQR 48–55), with prior IPE exposure influencing perceptions (p<0.05). Facilitators acknowledged IPE’s value but identified key areas for enhancement: pre-session team-building to improve engagement, structured facilitator training for clearer role definition, more balanced clinical case designs to ensure equitable participation, incorporation of visual/high-fidelity simulation elements and stronger integration into core curricula. Conclusion: Both students and facilitators perceive IPE positively, reinforcing its role in fostering collaborative practice readiness. The significant improvement in community-centered attitudes and overall satisfaction support IPE implementation across healthcare programs. However, optimizing its impact requires addressing critical gaps particularly in facilitators preparation, session design, and curricular alignment. This research provides a conceptual framework and methodological outline to initiate IPE sessions within the university and elsewhere in the country and the region.