The Leicester Model of Interprofessional Education: Developing, delivering and learning from student voices for 10 years

Abstract

There are few sustained interprofessional learning opportunities in practice which engage the whole cohort of health and social care students across a region, the Leicester Model of Interprofessional Education is such an example. Since 1995 the Leicester Model has evolved to enable health and social care students to learn about the complexities of delivering multi-agency care in a range of health and social care settings. The learning environment is situated at the front line of service delivery. The education model takes students through a cycle of learning and applies a problem-solving, experiential learning approach which promotes deep learning. Follow-up data indicates that deep learning is achieved. This paper describes the original setting and presents the evaluation outcomes of the Leicester Model's “Health in the Community” course, which is delivered in city-centre communities, where inequalities in health are greatest. It traces a ten-year trajectory of interprofessional student group evaluations which helped shape this learning experience. Year-on-year positive student outcomes indicate the potential of the model to motivate and prepare future professionals for team working. Its sustainability has been achieved through ensuring the integration of education research in the development process, engagement of practitioners who value the student contributions to team working, placing patients central to the learning experience and establishing working partnerships between Higher Education Institutions, local health and social care organizations and the voluntary sector.

Keywords:

• Interprofessional practice-based education
• patient-centred model of learning
• evaluation
• disadvantage
• community

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the practice of St Matthews Medical Centre which pioneered the work and more recently practices in New Parks, Beaumont Leys, Belgrave, Braunstone, Highfields and Saffron Lane, Leicester, former Deans of the Medical School Professor Frank Harris and Professor Ian Lauder, Head of the Medical School Professor Stewart Petersen, academic coordinators Julian Stribling and Sandy Goodyer, original researcher Di Milner (DM) who became a long-standing tutor, Diane Wensley and the team of current facilitators in each locality, other discipline leads – Jenny Ford (Speech and Language Therapy), Neena Lakhani (Pharmacy), Marcia Stewart and Professor Roger Smith (Social Work), Ruth Beretta and Jacqui Williams (Nursing), patients and their families and carers who have worked with us since the start of the project, Sue Bosworth and Jayshree Kothari, patient and carer representatives on the steering group, and Sharon Hague, administrative coordinator throughout the course evolution.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Note

1. Patient/User. Throughout this paper the word patient will be used to denote those members of the general public who receive health and social care often referred to by practitioners as patient, user, service user or client.