Qualified and competent healthcare professionals working in a collaborative team environment is a prerequisite for high quality patient care. In order to be successful in the healthcare working environment, medical students need to be exposed to interprofessional learning early in their education. A single stage online survey was administered to medical students to evaluate their attitudes and perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and whether prior exposure to IPE increased their appreciation for interprofessional collaboration. The results suggest that irrespective of prior exposure to IPE, medical students appreciated the importance of interprofessional education and collaboration. Medical students showed a strong interest in attending interprofessional courses in other disciplines. Time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and communication emerged as barriers to IPE. Medical students embraced IPE and welcomed the opportunity to learn with other disciplines. Clinical case studies and simulations were identified as potential methods to integrate with other healthcare disciplines. The positive attitude and perceptions of the medical students toward interprofessional education and collaboration warrants the inclusion of related courses in medical curricula, as this may further increase students’ potentials in becoming effective healthcare providers.

The increasing rates of comorbidities among patients and the complexity of care have warranted interprofessional collaboration (IPC) as an important component of the healthcare structure. An initial step towards assessing the effectiveness of collaboration requires the exploration of the attitudes and experience of healthcare professionals towards IPC. This online survey aimed to examine the attitudes of healthcare professionals working in a large public academic medical center toward IPC in patient care and the healthcare team, and their behavior and experience regarding IPC. The rankings, according to the perceived importance among the respondents, of the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies (values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, teams/teamwork) were assessed. There were strong but varying levels of consensus among healthcare professionals (N = 551) that IPC facilitates efficient patient care, improves patient problem-solving ability, and increases better clinical outcomes for patients. They acknowledged that IPC promotes mutual respect within the healthcare team and providers’ ability to make optimal patient care decisions. However, overall more than 35% of the respondents did not attend multidisciplinary education sessions (grand rounds, seminars, etc.), and about 23% did not participate in bedside patient care rounds. Interprofessional communication was ranked as the most important IPEC core competence. Although the attitude towards IPC among healthcare professionals is strongly positive, many healthcare professionals face challenges in participating in IPC. Institutional policies that facilitate interprofessional learning and interactions for this group of healthcare professionals should be formulated. Online distance learning and interactions, and simulation-enhanced interprofessional education, are options for addressing this barrier. Hospital administrators should facilitate conducive work environments that promote IPC, based on IPEC core competencies, and promote programs that address the challenges of IPC.

Breast milk feedings are the optimal feeding choice for premature infants. Clinicians depend on accurate nutrient profiles of the breast milk in order to make informed decisions regarding the need for nutrient supplementation. Existing data for nutrient composition of preterm breast milk are dated and not representative of the current population of women delivering prematurely in the United States. The purpose of this prospective, longitudinal, single-center observational study was to measure the macronutrient and micronutrient composition of breast milk expressed by mothers, including women who self-identify as black, delivering preterm infants at ≤33 completed weeks of gestation. We collected breast milk samples from mothers of preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Augusta University Medical Center from January 2019 through November 2019. Mother's milk samples were collected on postpartum days 7, 14, 21, and 28 and analyzed for macronutrients (energy, fat, protein, and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc). Thirty-eight mothers, mean age 27 ± 5.1 y and majority black (66%), provided milk for the study. The mean estimated gestational age and birth weight were 28.2 ± 2.8 weeks of gestation and 1098 ± 347 g, respectively, with 42% of mothers in the cohort delivering before week 28 of pregnancy. Differences in protein, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc concentrations based on race, day, and milk volume were identified. Dilution effects for protein, sodium, chloride, and vitamin D concentrations over time were identified. Our study is among the first to characterize breast milk composition from women who delivered extremely preterm infants and adds to the evidence that race, gestational age, and volume influence the composition of preterm mother's milk. These factors should be considered when designing mother's milk–based feeds for premature infants.

Background: In 2020, a multidose human‐milk fortifier (MDHMF) was designed to improve the process of human‐milk (HM) fortification. The bottle of MDHMF (5.5 oz, 163 ml) allows aseptic removal of HMF in a precise measure. This survey aimed to examine the experience of nutrition care team (NCT) members who used the MDHMF in a hospital setting.Methods: A survey link (Qualtrics XM) was sent to NCT leaders (N = 108) at hospitals who participated in an evaluation of the MDHMF from June 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021. The NCT leaders sent the survey to members at their prospective hospitals (n = 344). The investigators did not know the identities of the recipients of the survey and collected no identifying information on respondents. Respondents were asked to evaluate their experience with the MDHMF compared with their previous practice.Results: The majority of respondents (n = 63, 72%) reported that the MDHMF improved their HM preparation practices and was better than their previous practice for reducing the time to prepare (n = 33, 71.7%), ensuring the accuracy of fortified HM (n = 32, 69.6%), ensuring aseptic preparation (n = 24, 52.2%), reducing HM waste (n = 27, 58.7%), and being easy to use (n = 30, 65.2%). Those responsible for evaluating nutrition status answered that the MDHMF was the same for feeding tolerance (n = 41, 58.6%), weight gain (n = 47, 67.1%), head growth (n = 56, 81.2%), and length growth (n = 53, 76.8%).Conclusion: US neonatal intensive care unit NCT members perceived that the MDHMF resulted in improved HM preparation practices while maintaining growth and tolerance.