Evaluation of an interprofessional practice placement in a UK in-patient palliative care unit

Abstract

This paper reports on undergraduate students' evaluation of a new hospice-based interprofessional practice placement (IPP) that took place in the voluntary sector from 2008 to 2009. Ward-based interprofessional training has been successfully demonstrated in a range of clinical environments. However, the multidisciplinary setting within a hospice in-patient unit offered a new opportunity for interprofessional learning. The development and delivery of the IPP initiative is described, whereby multidisciplinary groups of 12 students provided hands-on care for a selected group of patients, under the supervision of trained health care professionals. The placement was positively evaluated and students reported an increased understanding of both their own role and that of other professionals in the team. The evaluation also suggests that additional learning opportunities were provided by the in-patient palliative care unit. The results of this evaluation suggest that the in-patient unit of a hospice caring for patients with life-limiting illness provides a suitable environment to demonstrate and learn about interprofessional practice.

A Survey of the Perception of Interprofessional Education among Faculty Members of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

“…In fact, only the mean score of competency and authority components in professors who had some interprofessional education experience was higher than that of other professors. (36)(37)(38)(39)(40).…”

Interprofessional education in a student-led emergency department: A realist evaluation

“…Moreover, interprofessional education (IPE), defined as a process where "two or more professions learn with, from and about each other in order to improve collaboration and the quality of care" (Barr, 2002., p6, footnote) is now part of the undergraduate curriculum for many different health care programmes (Art, De Roo, Willems, & De Maeseneer, 2008;Dando, d'Avray, Colman, Hoy, & Todd, 2012;Hamilton et al, 2008;Hylin, Nyholm, Mattiasson, & Ponzer, 2007;Jacobsen, Fink, Marcussen, Larsen, & Hansen, 2009;Moskowitz, Glasco, Johnson, & Wang, 2006;Reeves, Freeth, McCrorie, & Perry, 2002;Sicat, Huynh, Willett, Polich, & Mayer, 2014).…”

Nursing Faculty's Needs of Knowledge, Beliefs, and Readiness to Implement Interprofessional Education in their Teaching: An Exploratory Study

“…Results indicate that IPE maximizes opportunities for students to learn in small groups in safe pedagogical environments (Dando, D'Avray, Colman, Hoy, & Todd, 2012;Mellor, Cottrell, & Moran, 2013;Salvatori, Berry, & Eva, 2007;Shiyanbola & Lammers, 2012;Shiyanbola, Randall, Lammers, Hegge, & Anderson, 2014;Solomon et al, 2010). IPE develops the trusting relations necessary to build collaborative practice and support students' and faculty's socialization to different philosophies of teaching and learning.…”