ABSTRACT
Interprofessional shadowing, whereby medical students take on the role of another profession, is an effective interprofessional education (IPE) method to promote interprofessional teamwork. Palliative care is an ideal setting for IPE as multidisciplinary teams work together to deliver holistic patient care. This brief report explores junior doctors’ experiences in shadowing nurses to provide care to patients in a hospice setting in New Zealand. We conducted semi-structured interviews with six participants to find out the impact that this shadowing experience had on their professional development and feasibility of incorporating this activity into the undergraduate medical curriculum. Inductive thematic analysis revealed that shadowing a nurse for two days increased participants’ awareness of the nursing role and gave them the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with their patients, both of which made participants actively reflect on the value of IPE and the way they practice medicine. Participants considered the palliative care setting as conducive to IPE and saw the value of incorporating interprofessional shadowing into the undergraduate medical curriculum.
Declaration of Interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
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Notes on contributors
Yan Chen
Yan Chen is a Lecturer at the Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, the University of Auckland.
Lauren Whearty
Lauren Whearty is a medical student at the University of Auckland.
Diane Winstanley
Diane Winstanley is a Palliative Medicine Specialist at Mercy Hospice Auckland and a Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, the University of Auckland.
Dean Fourie
Dean Fourie is a Consultant Physician in Palliative Medicine at Mercy Hospice Auckland and a Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, the University of Auckland.
Marie Rose
Marie Rose is a Senior Medical Officer at Mercy Hospice Auckland.
Marcus A. Henning
Marcus A. Henning is an Associate Professor and the Postgraduate Academic Advisor at the Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, the University of Auckland.