Composing the symphony of interprofessional care: A reflection on innovations in interprofessional education

Following the succession of high profile serious case and service reviews (for example Lord Laming, 2003 and
Francis, 2013), interprofessional working continues to be an identified area of development within health and social
services. In response to this, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Health and Care Professions Council
(HCPC) have issued guidelines and recommendations for interprofessional education to become embedded across
the professional courses (NMC, 2010; HCPC, 2014).
The University of Huddersfield continued their proactive approach to inter-professional education (IPE) by
revalidating all health professional courses in 2012, creating new and innovative modules across the professions.
This poster will focus on the experience of facilitating a Year 2 module, ‘Interprofessional working in context’.
The module includes students and staff from all fields of nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy, podiatry and
physiotherapy, and explores the key features and challenges of interprofessional working within the context of
contemporary health and social care services (Day, 2013; Thistlethwaite, 2012). Due to practice placement
commitments of the different professions, this module is predominantly delivered through weekly online directed
study supported by an online communication tool and a one day conference event mid-way through the academic
year. The multiprofessional group assessment encourages students to meet and collaborate with their peers, whilst
also considering the priorities and commitments of the different courses. Colleagues from clinical areas are invited to provide the key note lectures to support student participation in creative workshops to consolidate the learning
experience.
This approach facilitates ‘real life’ experience of team-working within an interprofessional and interagency context.
The module philosophy actively encourages the students to work within a team whilst maintaining the integrity of
their own profession and the professional codes which regulate them.
This poster will be a visual representation of how effective multiprofessional teams are able to work and learn
together to successfully deliver effective person centred care. This will include a metaphorical visual reflection of
staff and student experiences on the module