Abstract
Similar to other professions, pharmacy educators use workplace learning opportunities to prepare students for collaborative practice. Thus, collaborative relationships between educators of different professions are important for planning, implementing and evaluating interprofessional learning strategies and role modelling interprofessional collaboration within and across university and workplace settings. However, there is a paucity of research exploring educators’ interprofessional relationships. Using collaborative dialogical inquiry we explored the nature of educators’ interprofessional relationships in a co-located setting. Data from interprofessional focus groups and semi-structured interviews were interpreted to identify themes that transcended the participants’ professional affiliations. Educators’ interprofessional collaborative relationships involved the development and interweaving of five interpersonal behaviours: being inclusive of other professions; developing interpersonal connections with colleagues from other professions; bringing a sense of own profession in relation to other professions; giving and receiving respect to other professions; and being learner-centred for students’ collaborative practice. Pharmacy educators, like other educators, need to ensure that interprofessional relationships are founded on positive experiences rather than vested in professional interests.
Highlights
Similar to many professions in healthcare, pharmacy needs to work with other professions in order to improve interprofessional collaborative practice [1] and prepare students for such practice [2]
Interprofessional collaborative relationships in a co-located setting, as they help students learn to work with other professions?” Underpinning the exploration of educators’ interprofessional collaborative relationships is the importance of ensuring that educators can say “do as we do AND as we say” in relation to interprofessional education (IPE) within work integrated learning (WIL)
The underpinning assumption behind the choice of this research method was that co-produced knowledge developed by including educators who were participants in the initial study as co-researchers would enhance the relevance of research outcomes for changes to their IPE and WIL practices
Summary
Similar to many professions in healthcare, pharmacy needs to work with other professions in order to improve interprofessional collaborative practice [1] and prepare students for such practice [2]. As well as dealing with changing drivers of healthcare, which include ensuring resource efficiency, knowledge expansion, and valuing practitioners and consumers in healthcare [4]. With their roles in the frontline of primary healthcare, pharmacists are well placed to work with other professions and address these challenges; for example, by reducing inappropriate polypharmacy through multidisciplinary case conferencing [5], and pharmacist-led medication reviews [6,7].
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