Purpose: This study aimed to collect information that is needed to develop interprofessional education curricula by examining thecurrent status of interprofessional conflicts and the demand for interprofessional education.
Methods: A total of 95 doctors and 92 nurses in three university hospitals in Seoul responded to a survey that comprised questionson past experience with interprofessional conflicts, the causes and solutions of such conflicts, past experience with interprofessionaleducation, and the demand for interprofessional education.
Results: We found that 86% of doctors and 62.6% of nurses had no interprofessional education experience. Most of them learnedabout the work of other health professions naturally through work experience, and many had experienced at least one interprofessionalconflict. For doctors, the most popular method of resolving interprofessional conflicts was to let the event pass; for nurses, it wasto inform the department head. Further, 41.5% of doctors and 56.7% of nurses expressed no knowledge of an official system forresolving interprofessional conflicts within the hospital, and 62.8% of doctors and 78.3% of nurses stated that they would participatein interprofessional education if the opportunity arose.
Conclusion: In Korean hospital organizations, many doctors and nurses have experienced conflicts with other health professionals.
By developing an appropriate curriculum and educational training system, the opportunities for health professionals to receiveinterprofessional education should expand.