AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The aim was to investigate the impact of a new structure for supporting students and mentors in practice placements (Placement Development Teams) in fostering interprofessional education from the perspective of non-medical health care students and staff.

BACKGROUND:

Interprofessional education is an important international issue which received significant impetus in the UK as a result of many high-profile cases where uni-professional boundaries and cultures have contributed to adverse patient and client outcomes.

DESIGN:

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an educational strategy attracting increased interest as a method to train future health care professionals. One example of IPE is the clinical training ward, where students from different health care professions practice together. At these wards the students work in teams with the support of facilitators. The professional composition of the team of facilitators usually corresponds to that of the students.

INTRODUCTION: Interprofessional (IP) community-oriented health education is an important strategy for achieving high quality health care. The purpose of this project was to develop collaborative partnerships between rural communities and Thompson Rivers University, Canada, to identify the needs and priorities for building capacity for IP placements in two rural communities in the Interior of BC.

Rising dementia incidence is likely to increase pressures on healthcare services, making effective well coordinated care imperative. Yet, barriers to this care approach exist which, we argue, might be understood by focussing on identity dynamics at the frontlines of care. In this article, we draw upon findings from an ethnographic study of healthcare assistants (HCAs) from three dementia wards across one National Health Service mental health trust.

Clients, patients, families, and communities must be conceived as partners in care delivery, not just as recipients (D'Amour, D. & Oandasan, I. (2005). Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(Suppl.), 8-20). Health-care students need an opportunity to understand community member self-determination, partnership, and empowerment (Scheyett, A., & Diehl, M. ( 2004 ). Social Work Education, 23(4), 435-450), within the frame of interprofessional education (IPE) where community members are involved as teachers and learners.

Australian community pharmacies offer a range of professional pharmacy services (PPS) which include Home Medicines Review (HMR) and the Diabetes Medication Assistance Service (DMAS). The extent of interaction and collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists in the context of these services is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate (1) the nature and extent of interactions between GPs and community pharmacists and; (2) the factors that influence these interactions in the context of PPS.

The facilitation of learners from different professional groups requires a range of interprofessional knowledge and skills (e.g. an understanding of possible sources of tension between professions) in addition to those that are more generic, such as how to manage a small group of learners. The development and delivery of interprofessional education (IPE) programs tends to rely on a small cohort of facilitators who have typically gained expertise through 'hands-on' involvement in facilitating IPE and through mentorship from more experienced colleagues.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate supervision is a significant contributing factor to medical errors involving trainees, but supervision in high-risk settings such as the intensive care unit (ICU) is not well studied.

OBJECTIVE: We explored how residents in the ICU experienced supervision related to medication safety, not only from supervising physicians but also from other professionals.

Language can impact significantly on the ways in which health care professionals relate and provide clinical services, as well as the way in which patients conceptualize their role in the healthcare encounter. The aim of this project was to explore the barriers and challenges to developing a collaborative approach in health care. A hermeneutic research approach was used with a convenience sample of international key informants representing 6 disciplines. A total of 10 individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted.