Eating difficulties after stroke are common and can, in addition to being a risk for serious medical complications, impair functional capability, social life and self-image. Stroke unit care entails systematic multidisciplinary teamwork and continuity of care. The purpose of this study was to describe (i) multidisciplinary stroke care as represented in patient records for patients with eating difficulties, and (ii) the written information that was transferred from hospital to elderly care. Data from 59 patient records were analysed with descriptive statistics and by categorization of phrases. Signs of multidisciplinary collaboration to manage eating problems were scarce in the records. While two notes from physiotherapists were found, nurses contributed with 78% of all notes (n=358). Screening of swallowing and body weight was documented for most patients, whereas data on nutritional status and eating were largely lacking. The majority of notes represented patients' handling of food in the mouth, swallowing and lack of energy. Care plans were unstructured and few contained steps for managing eating. Discharge summaries held poor information on care related to eating difficulties. The language of all professionals was mostly unspecific. However, notes from speech-language therapists were comprehensive and entailed information on follow-up and patient participation.
Lack of nurse‒physician collaboration in wound care may result in prolonged healing times for patients. In order to facilitate future professional collaboration, undergraduate learning activities in interprofessional education (IPE) have been proposed. The aim of this study was to investigate nursing and medical students’ attitudes and perceptions towards each other’s future professions and interprofessional collaboration in wound care. Nursing and medical students took part in an interprofessional learning activity about wound care. Data were collected using the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes towards Physician‒Nurse Collaboration questionnaire to student groups before and after an IPE activity (pooled n = 221). Focus groups were conducted to deepen the knowledge about students’ attitudes and perceptions. The results showed high scores on the attitude scale (mean 53.2, possible maximum = 60) both before and after IPE, indicating positive attitudes towards nurse‒physician collaboration. Nursing students scored higher than medical students both pre-IPE (p < 0.001) and post-IPE (p = 0.006). However, no difference on scale scores could be identified between pre- and post-IPE. The following themes emerged in the analysis of focus group discussions: “Approaching patient care from different perspectives,” “Need for collaboration and clear professional roles in practice,” “Structures hindering future collaboration,” and “IPE as a tool for professional practice and roles.” The shared learning activity provided insights into the other profession’s competence. This kind of learning activity may increase future interprofessional collaboration, and thus, improve wound care.