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QUESTION UNDER STUDY/PRINCIPLES: Ambulatory care is a mandatory component of post-graduate training in general internal medicine. Academic outpatient clinics face challenges in training residents in terms of exposure to sufficient patient case-mix, diversity of clinical activities and continuity of care while fulfilling their mission to provide care to vulnerable populations. We report the development and evaluation of a new postgraduate curriculum in ambulatory care in Geneva, Switzerland, designed to overcome such challenges.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate healthcare students' perceptions of an introductory interprofessional exercise and their team dynamics.

This paper examines the readiness for and attitudes toward interprofessional (IP) education in students across four diverse educational institutions with different educational mandates. The four educational institutions (research-intensive university, baccalaureate, polytechnical institute and community college) partnered to develop, deliver and evaluate IP modules in simulation learning environments. As one of the first steps in planning, the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was delivered to 1530 students from across the institutions.

Readiness for interprofessional education (IPE) can be an important factor to evaluate because of the influences of attitudes toward the outcomes of interprofessional learning activities. However, a dearth of Japanese evaluation tools hinders its evaluation. The readiness for interprofessional learning scale (RIPLS) was selected, because it has been validated in different countries and its items reflected our local situation best. This research aimed to develop and validate a Japanese version of the original 19-item RIPLS.

INTRODUCTION: The Rural Interprofessional Programme Emergency Retreat (RIPPER) is an educational programme collaboratively developed and evaluated by an interprofessional team from Schools within Faculty of Health Science (FHS), University of Tasmania (UTAS), Australia.

The purpose of this study is to examine referrals of nurse practitioners providing primary healthcare (PHC NPs) to better understand how PHC NPs collaborate with other healthcare professionals and contribute to interprofessional care. The analysis is based on the data from a survey of 378 PHC NPs registered in Ontario, Canada in 2008. Overall, 69% of PHC NPs made referrals to family physicians (FPs) and 67% of PHC NPs received referrals from FPs. Almost 50% of PHC NPs had bidirectional referrals between them and FPs. Eighty-nine percent of PHC NPs made referrals to specialist physicians.

Practice development (PD), as a framework for multiprofessional working, has immense potential, specifically within change management and the clinical governance agenda. It has been acknowledged as a vehicle for 'continuous improvement'. This article discusses PD through collaborative working using the example of a case study on change of practice in falls reduction within a localised community setting. The process is underpinned by a PD framework and facilitated by leaders of PD within a university setting.

SETTING: An orthopaedic interprofessional training ward manned by students at a University Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To assess to what extent students from different undergraduate programmes evaluated the effects of a 2-week rotation at the ward on their professional roles and the value of teamwork within health care.

BACKGROUND: Although care pathways are often said to promote teamwork, high-level evidence that supports this statement is lacking. Furthermore, knowledge on conditions and facilitators for successful pathway implementation is scarce. The objective of the European Quality of Care Pathway (EQCP) study is therefore to study the impact of care pathways on interprofessional teamwork and to build up understanding on the implementation process.

A review of the formal ethics consultations performed at a rural academic medical center during 2006 revealed that only 5 of 72 consultations were initiated by nurses. A descriptive exploratory convenience study used a 3-item survey to collect information from registered nurses who provide direct patient care at the rural academic medical center.