Lesson Learned from the Development and Implementation of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP)

Abstract

Abstract Interprofessional collaboration is essential for our students’ success in their selected program/s and postgraduate life. These types of experiences have been shown to improve students’ interprofessional competencies - communication skills, teamwork abilities, ethical practices and understanding other team members’ roles and responsibilities; they also can increase their theoretical knowledge acquisition within their discipline. We developed and tested a pedagogical idea, the interprofessional case learning project (ICLP,) that encompassed a multi-disciplinary approach involving biology, chemistry and public health. The goal was to provide students and faculty with the opportunity to experience interprofessional collaborative practices that would encourage questioning, discredit misconception, connect concepts and make inferences, generate new ideas and encourage shared decision making. Feedback indicated that the goals established aligned well with the development of interprofessional competencies. Student engagement with this project lead to in-depth questions beyond the scope of an individual discipline, with resulting impact affecting decisions about coursework, and professional and career development. This project also fostered collaboration between faculty, which promoted creative curriculum development and facilitated the development of scholarship that lead to publications. Our major challenge to this project was time – to pause, reflect and participate individually or as a group. Another challenge was overcoming logistical barriers such as incorporating the ICLP in our courses and scheduling the multi-disciplinary discussion that required a common time and large enough space for everyone.