Interprofessional clinical placements are essential for students to understand interprofessional practice for better patient outcomes and developing their own perspective of future work within an interprofessional team. Ambulatory care is an ideal environment for nursing and other health professional students to engage in interprofessional clinical placements.

Ninety-two students undertook the interprofessional placement: 74% were medical students and 26% were nursing students. The overall response rate was 81%. Students strongly supported the model of clinical supervision with the nurse educator and teaching registrar working collaboratively to facilitate the placement. Both medical and nursing students felt that the placement facilitated the development of interprofessional principles, with 78.7% agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement 'the clinical placement allowed me to reflect on interprofessional learning and practice'. In terms of future practice, 67% of medical students and 81% of nursing students agreed that 'this placement has altered how [they] will practice as a professional in the future'. Interprofessional practice can facilitate effective collaboration and can improve health outcomes for patients DISCUSSION: Medical and nursing students found that the ambulatory care setting facilitated a mix of learning opportunities that complemented learning from the inpatient setting, and the interactions with other health professionals provided a valuable learning experience that contributed to their understanding of interprofessional practice.

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The learning landscape of the higher education environment is changing, with an increased focus over the past decade on how educators might begin to cultivate reflective skills in health professions students. In addition, changing professional requirements demand that health professionals are adequately prepared to practise in today’s complex healthcare systems, including responding to changing demographics of population ageing. In this educational case study, we will share how we (a group of education, medical and nursing academics) developed ‘Depth of Field: Exploring Ageing’ a digital, consumer-driven, interprofessional reflective learning resource that uses photographs, narrative and small-group work to strengthen reflective capacity in current and/or future health professionals