Interprofessional Learning – An introduction for Educators and Trainees

(In conjunction with powerpoint presentation)

There have now been several public inquiries, often around safeguarding children, which have highlighted the failures of health professionals and others (e.g. the police) to function in healthy teams. These inquiries have highlighted poor communication, cultural barriers and prejudices between professional groups leading to the tragic situations that lead to intense media attention.

The new NHS workforce planning document explicitly mentions the importance of developing multi professional workforce that responds in a seamless and integrative way to the needs of patients and their carers. Therefore, there is an implicit need for trainees from medical and non-medical (e.g. social care) to train together usually around situations where there is a need for a multidisciplinary approach in patient care or organisational development.

Multi-professional Learning (MPL) is defined as when organisations learn side by side frequentlywith little or no interaction and divided along lines of specialty or hierarchy. This is probably the most frequent type of scenario at both undergraduate and at pre and post-certification levels. Some GP practices became multi professional learning organisations (MPLOs)during a deanery initiative to promote primary care exposure to other trainees such as pharmacists, nursing students and social care.

Interprofessional Education (IPE) occurs when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care (CAIPE 2002). This term is used interchangeably with interprofessional learning (IPL), though some reserve IPE foractivities that take place at undergraduate levels though appreciate this distinction may be artificial.

There is now qualitative evidence that Interprofessional Learning (IPL):

  • Works to improve the quality of care
  • Focuses on the needs of service users and carers
  • Involves service users and carers
  • Promotes interprofessional collaboration
  • Encourages professions to learn with, from, and about one another
  • Enhances practice within professions
  • Respects the integrity and contribution of each profession
  • Increases professional satisfaction

IPL is now integrated into the undergraduate programme of nearly all health care and allied professions. It is not a Fad and evidence of IPL activity is likely to become a GMC visiting Quality Marker for CCT training programs and is a developmental priority for the Deanery.

Some interspecialty training has taken place in the EM deanery between a GP training program and CMT with great success (see Powerpoint presentation with Podcast on this Page from Dr Jonathan Corne). The East Midlands deanery has formed a small working party comprising educationalists from both undergraduate and postgraduate primary and secondary care to promote IPL development in pre-specialty certification training programs –Community for Interprofessional Learning (CIPL).

CIPL can assist you with developing an IPL event for your training programme

CIPL can be contacted on this page….or by EMail