Surveying the Landscape in the development of a new medical programme: The challenges of creating a learning space for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative working

Abstract

Professional regulatory bodies across the UK are keen for professions to learn together with a focus on working towards integration of services and improved patient outcomes (GMC, 2016). The creation of a new medical school at UCLan presented the opportunity to envision this across new and existing provision. Using an approach based on Transformational Learning and the Activity Theory paradigm the initiative sought to address the physical challenges of bringing large groups of students together to learn collaboratively, the professional challenges of creating mutually meaningful opportunities to learn, in addition to enabling students ‘to learn about, from and between’ different disciplines . There were also the pedagogic challenges of co-designing programmes with practitioners, service users and academic staff. Flipped classroom approaches were employed to make the optimum use of shared timetabled sessions. Packages were created using narrative software to enhance learning prior to the sessions and to promote reflection after the session. The face-to-face sessions involved a blend of actor-led simulations, audio narratives, service user led discussion, small group work and links to technology enhanced learning. The curriculum team had prioritised learning elements for students based upon learning about the context, colleagues and service user perspectives. Evaluations from the first year of the programme have been analysed across all participant groups and the themes of: - professionalism, patient centredness, professionalism and understanding the perspectives of other disciplines emerged as shared themes. Other elements such as increased cultural awareness and understanding of public health issues were also identified by participants. Ongoing curriculum design involves widening out the number and range of disciplines involved and revisiting key elements within a spiral curriculum.