Teamwork, collaboration and networking: self-reported behavioural change following pre-licensure interprofessional clinical learning

ABSTRACT

The majority of studies exploring the impact of interprofessional education (IPE) for pre-licensure health professionals have focused on IPE experiences in the classroom, online or through simulation. Research into IPE in clinical settings has been carried out, however, to date most studies have focused on short-term outcomes related to learner reaction, attitudes and perceptions, and knowledge and skills. This study adds to the literature investigating IPE in clinical settings for pre-licensure health professionals by investigating the experiences of learners who, following their IPE clinical placement, had moved into other clinical (workplace) environments. To understand what, if any, influence the clinical IPE experience had on their subsequent professional practice, 13 participants (students and graduates) from five professions were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis identified that, following their IPE placement, participants engaged in interprofessional practice by seeking and sharing information, embedding other professional goals into patient sessions and conducting joint sessions. Several factors influenced the ability and capacity to collaborate at the individual and organisation level. Findings from this study suggest that the dedicated IPE placements enhanced both student and graduate openness and ability to collaborate with other professions in subsequent clinical workplace settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional education
• interprofessional learning
• practice-based learning
• team-based placements

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the students and staff for supporting this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes

1. For the sake of brevity the term ‘patient’ as been adopted to refer to the recipients of services except in direct quotes from participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) 2016 Research Grant Scheme.

Notes on contributors

Margo L. Brewer

Associate Professor Margo L. Brewer is the Director, Practice and Interprofessional Education in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. She oversees clinical education/fieldwork and interprofessional education for all courses across the health faculty. Margo has been awarded several teaching excellence awards, has led local and national grants totally over $5 million, and published 18 peer reviewed journal papers and 4 book chapters. Margo’s research has been presented on over 50 occasions at national and international conferences including international plenary addresses.

Helen Louise Flavell

Dr Helen Louise Flavellis the Coordinator, Scholarship of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. Her disciplinary training is in literature and cultural studies but she has worked within health education for many years. Helen has published on interprofessional education, academic leadership, developing academic capacity for e-learning, fieldwork, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, work-integrated-learning, outbound mobility, and embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into curricula. In 2018 Helen received a Citation in the Australian Awards for University Teaching. She is a Senior Higher Education Fellow.