Making the most of interprofessional learning opportunities: professionals' and students' experience of interprofessional learning and working: Advice for providing academic support. Advice for mentors. Advice for students. Scenarios for interprofessional learning groups.

摘要

This resource to support interprofessional learning has been developed after consulting students and qualified health and social care professionals about their experience of learning and working together. Students and staff were interviewed about their experiences of interprofessional learning and working during an evaluation of an interprofessional curriculum delivered in the School of Health and Social Care, University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. Data collected included 105 interviews with 94 students from a range of professions. The curriculum included three interprofessional modules, one in each of three years of study. In these modules students worked together in small groups through enquiry based learning. During a research project funded by the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre a further 29 interviews were conducted with 13 adult nurses, 5 physiotherapists, 4 midwives and 7 social workers, all of whom had been students at UWE, Bristol before or after the introduction of the interprofessional curriculum. During the interviews with these qualified professionals, they described experiences, identified skills necessary for effective interprofessional working and offered advice about making the most of interprofessional learning opportunities.ududA full report of the research funded by the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre provides detailed information about the views of qualified professionals. This report: Pollard K, Rickaby C and Miers M (2008) Evaluating student learning in an interprofessional curriculum: the relevance of pre-qualifying interprofessional education for future professional practice is available from:udhttp://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/miniprojects/completeproj.htmududReports of the interprofessional curriculum evaluation conducted at UWE, Bristol, and details of publications from the longitudinal study are available from http://hsc.uwe.ac.uk/net/research/Default.aspx?pageindex=2&pageid=29ududIn this resource, direct quotes from the students’ and professionals’ interviews help to clarify the advice for providing academic support, advice for mentors and advice for students. The suggestions and advice included in the resource derive from careful analysis of a range of data from three student cohorts, (now qualified professionals) in one faculty and careful consideration of literature exploring staff and student experience of interprofessional learning and working, as well as personal experience as professionals and as learners.