Unpacking readiness competence: a descriptive qualitative study of health students in interprofessional online learning

Background & Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic shifted Interprofessional Education (IPE) from face-to-face to online.This transition introduced challenges and raised concerns about the achievement of IPE goals.Most studies assess students' readiness competence through scores, limited contextual or experiential exploration in Interprofessional Online Learning (IOL).This study aims to explore the readiness competence of health students during IOL. Materials & Methods:This is a descriptive qualitative study that enables in-depth exploration of health students' readiness and competence for IOL.Participants were selected through maximum-variation sampling to ensure balanced representation of genders and study programs.Data saturation was achieved with sixteen students.Data were collected through online in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis.Findings are presented in tables outlining themes, categories, and supporting quotations.Results: Five main themes representing a continuum of competency readiness were identified.The first four themes revealed barriers indicating limited readiness: disconnected team synergy, concealed professional role clarity, burden of responsibility capability, passive engagement barrier.Despite these challenges, emerging adaptability was found as the fifth theme.It highlighted positive experiences such as enjoyment, time efficiency, and connectedness with peers, reflecting adaptive and collaborative competencies development.Conclusion: Students' competency readiness in IOL does not develop instantly but rather evolves through both barriers and adaptive learning experiences.Strengthening structured facilitation and reflective practice is recommended to help students transform initial challenge into a process of professional growth in community-based learning.