|
About IPE
The overall aim of this work is to assist students to gain understanding of the roles of other members of the interprofessional health and social care team, not only in terms of the management and delivery of patient/client care, but also to understand the roles of the health and social care team from a patient or client’s perspective. What is Interprofessional Education? "Interprofessional education/training" describes those occasions when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care. (Freeth, D et al (2005) Effective Interprofessional Practice: Development, Delivery and Evaluation.Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Background to Interprofessional Education (IPE) Interprofessional working and learning is one of the key new drivers of modern healthcare and is considered by all the professional bodies as being essential to promoting more effective patient/client care. There also is no doubt that some of the motivation for change arose from nationally reported tragedies such Bristol (Kennedy, I., 2002. Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry. London. Stationary Office: Bristol Inquiry) and Climbié (Lord Laming, 2003. The Victoria Climbié Inquiry. London: The Victoria Climbié Inquiry.). However, teams and teamworking have been an integral part of healthcare activities since healthcare became professionalized. The current considerations toward improving our understandings of, and promotion toward, effective teams and teamworking is merely a reflection of the drive toward making explicit our ‘good practices’, that we might utilise them to their full benefit, and, conversely, understanding ‘poor performance’, how it arises and how to remove it wherever it appears. What is IPE for? Hugh Barr, a prominent commentator in the interprofessional education field, noted that ‘interprofessional education was conceived as a way of overcoming ignorance and prejudice amongst healthcare and social care professions. By learning together the professions would work more effectively together and thereby improve the quality of care for patients. They would understand each other better, valuing what each brought to collaborative practice whilst setting aside negative stereotypes’ (Link - Page 10) Interprofessional education has now become embedded in professional healthcare: For example, the Department of Health (DoH) asks for training to be ‘genuinely multi-professional’ to promote: teamwork; partnership and collaboration between professionals, agencies and patients; skill mix and flexible working; opportunities to switch training pathways [and to create] new types of workers’. (Link - Page 7) Also, the General Medical Council (GMC), in its document Tomorrow’s Doctors, requires all undergraduate curricular to prepare students for teamworking (Link). What do we want to achieve? The aim of interprofessional education within City and Queen Mary, at undergraduate/pre-registration level, is to produce naissant practitioners who understand the roles and responsibilities of other members of multidisciplinary teams and are able to work collaboratively and effectively as a member of such teams. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the programme, health and social care students will: - • Understand
theoretical principles of team working and collaboration.
|
||||
