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The aim of this thesis is to establish how interprofessional education (IPE) can promote interprofessional learning (IPL) and enhance collaborative practice in rural health settings. Furthermore, it examines five different types of IPE activities to find out how IPE or IPL might promote or influence collaborative practice in rural hospitals. Rural practice was the main focus because the research has been conducted by an experienced rural clinician.
The research approach is qualitative and reflects a social constructivist perspective.

In order to answer the question—How does work-based interprofessional education promote interprofessional learning and influence collaborative practice in three rural hospitals in South Australia?—the research was completed in three phases. Phase One established baseline data for each rural hospital setting by exploring everyday practice and perceptions of health professionals working there. The findings for Phase One informed Phase Two which focused on the planning and implementation of practice-based IPE activities. Phase Three determined whether there was any impact of the activities on collaborative practice.
Background information about each of the IPE activities is specified, and precedes the research findings.
The analysis explores the relationships between the health professionals in each hospital and contextual factors—communication, interprofessional relations and the environment—with the purpose of being able to contribute to IPE theory.

The study reveals the current challenges of rural practice in South Australia. The professional silos that existed in the health system created silos that perpetuated significant barriers to collaborative practice. The collaborative nature of the rural workplace is examined in more detail and reveals a change of atmosphere due to workforce changes being imposed. Whilst it was difficult to analyse the impacts of IPL on collaborative practice, insights revealed that health professionals would like to improve their interprofessional relationships. The dominance of profession-based communities of practices was found to exist within the rural health setting and hindered the IPE–IPL–collaborative practice nexus.

Social learning and community of practice theories are used to consider the link between IPE, IPL and collaborative practice.