Shortcomings of modeling interprofessional collaboration competence in nurse education: A protocol for a scoping review of empirical research

Abstract

Interprofessional collaboration is recognized as central to improving healthcare outcomes. The digital transformation further reshapes collaboration demands, extending the traditional notion of interprofessional collaboration beyond nursing and healthcare. Therefore, interprofessional collaboration competence (ICC) constitutes a key outcome in nurse education. This knowledge-user-informed protocol registered with OSF (https://osf.io/8rbv7) outlines a scoping review aiming to identify shortcomings in (1) how competence facets, conceptualized as a continuum (Blömeke et al. 2015), are represented; (2) how nursing students’ ICC is theoretically elaborated, as reflected in the extent of theory talk; and (3) how ICC is empirically modeled in nurse education research. Guided by the JBI methodology and the PRISMA-ScR 2020 guidelines, this scoping review will systematically search the following seven databases to ensure coverage of nursing, educational research, and psychology: (i) Web of Science Core Collection, (ii) Scopus, (iii) ProQuest, (iv) MEDLINE, (v) Education Source, (vi) Cochrane Library, and (vii) APA PsycArticles. By synthesizing the eligible publications, the review seeks to provide a structured overview of research on modeling nursing students’ ICC, thereby enabling the identification of research shortcomings. Completion of the proposed scoping review is anticipated within the period from May to November 2027.• The proposed review maps which facets of competence-as-a-continuum are addressed in modeling nursing students’ ICC within empirical research.• It identifies shortcomings in the theoretical and empirical modeling of nursing students’ ICC.• The findings will provide a basis for future research, informing the development of more effective educational interventions for the ICC of nursing students, and others.