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Undergraduate medical and nursing education should enable the development of communication and teamworking skills and of reflective practice, which should be assessed and continued into professional practice. This study aimed to examine appropriate methods for the assessment of interprofessional learning of clinical, teamwork and communication skills for undergraduate students in Paediatrics and Children's Nursing and to involve Senior House Officers (SHOs) in this process. During the 2002/3 academic year, 31 students, four nurse educators, two medical educators and six SHOs were involved in the development and implementation of a programme of interprofessional learning and assessment. Objective structured clinical skills examination (OSCE) and role-play assessment methods were used to explore the potential to develop common activities and standards for both professions. This study found that common learning activities and assessment methods acceptable to both professions could be developed and common standards set. It also concluded that development and delivery by an interprofessional team is particularly important and that formative feedback has a vital role to play in the process. Involving SHOs in the planning and implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) has the potential to allow its extension into different clinical areas and to meet training requirements at the postgraduate level.

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