Abstract:Countries around the world now perceive interprofessional collaborative practice as essential to address the global health workforce crisis and the increasingly complex and costly challenges facing health and care provision. It is generally acknowledged that there is now sufficient evidence to show that effective interprofessional education (IPE) contributes to improved collaborative practice and it seen as a key strategy for enabling change. Health and social care students are expected to experience some interprofessional learning (IPL) in both the academic and practice settings.
Interprofessional collaborative working has to be grounded in interprofessional education and In the practice learning environment, the role of the practice educator is crucial to the effectiveness of student learning and particularly in relation to acquiring the competencies of collaborative practice.
This article explores some of the issues that face the practice educator in providing and facilitating inter professional learning opportunities for their student during a practice placement experience. A brief overview of IPE is provided to show how it provides a platform for learning for effective collaborative practice Issues highlighted and discussed include: the unique factors which have to be taken into account when facilitating learning of mixed professional groups; the enhanced and additional skills needed by teachers and facilitators; the challenges of finding appropriate interprofessional learning opportunities in limited and diverse practice settings; the preparation, strategies and changes which are needed to support practice educators in their interprofessional teaching role.