An Interprofessional Clinical Placement in a Primary Healthcare Setting: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose: Internationally, and in Australia, interprofessional education (IPE) is becoming typical in primary healthcare delivery and is core to delivering patient-centred care. It is essential that primary healthcare education develop interprofessional capacity in order to produce a skilled workforce. An IPE clinical placement for undergraduate health students was developed and piloted in primary healthcare settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the IPE clinical placement in a primary healthcare setting on students’ perceptions of interprofessional education. Method: A pre-post placement validated questionnaire (n=19) indicated overall perceptions of IPE significantly increased over the course of the IPE clinical placement. Results: There was a significant increase in competency and autonomy and understanding of roles over time. There was no significant increase in the reported perception of need for interprofessional cooperation, however there was a significant increase in actual interprofessional cooperation. Conclusion: This was a successful pilot program that warrants further development and research to include longer-term follow up of students’ perceptions towards IPE and analyze whether collaboration and teamwork skills obtained during the IPE primary healthcare experience are transferrable to future professional practice.