The politics of interprofessional training—lessons from learning disability

Abstract

The emphasis of this paper, while taking learning disability as a case study, is upon the challenges facing all professional bodies in the 1990s. Although very much a paper in its own right, this is also a development of some of the arguments made by Mathias & Thompson (1992). It is argued that analysts of joint training have largely failed to examine the changing political context which has fuelled interprofessional developments. This paper aims to fill that gap and illustrate how an analysis of developments in learning disability can provide lessons for other areas of health and social care. The conclusion is that interprofessional training may be essential to the survival of professional spheres of influence and practice.

Key Words:

• Interprofessional
• politics
• training
• learning disability