Which is an example of a qualitative measure used to evaluate interprofessional competencies?

• A. Narrative feedback or reflective journals.
• B. Number of successful handoffs.
• C. Time to complete rounds.
• D. Qualitative interviews.

Answer: (A)

Focusing on how people work together across professions is best captured through descriptive, reflective information rather than just counts or speeds. Qualitative measures provide rich, narrative data about teamwork, communication, role understanding, and professional attitudes—things that show how interprofessional collaborators actually behave in practice and how they learn from those experiences.

Narrative feedback and reflective journals fit this purpose because they yield detailed descriptions of interactions, decisions, and dynamics in real-world team settings. They reveal how learners communicate with other professionals, respond to feedback, handle conflicts, show respect for different roles, and grow their collaborative skills over time. This kind of qualitative evidence helps educators assess competencies like collaboration, communication, and professionalism in a nuanced way that numbers alone can’t capture.

The other options lean more toward quantitative data: counting how many handoffs occur or measuring how long rounds take provides objective metrics about process or efficiency but not the depth of interprofessional collaboration. Qualitative interviews are also a qualitative method, but the example given aligns with narrative feedback or reflective journals as a straightforward, learner-centered way to evaluate interprofessional behaviors and growth.