An interprofessional team of maternity care providers and academics developed a pilot interprofessional education (IPE) program in maternity care for undergraduate students in nursing, midwifery and medicine. There are few published studies examining IPE programs in maternity care, particularly at the undergraduate level, that examine long-term outcomes. This paper outlines findings from a case study that explored how participation in an IPE program in maternity care may enhance student knowledge, skills/attitudes, and may promote their collaborative behavior in the practice setting. The program was launched at a Canadian urban teaching hospital and consisted of six workshops and two clinical shadowing experiences. Twenty-five semi-structured, in-depth interviews were completed with nine participants at various time points up to 20 months post-program. Qualitative analysis of transcripts revealed the emergence of four themes: relationship-building, confident communication, willingness to collaborate and woman/family-centered care. Participant statements about their intentions to continue practicing interprofessional collaboration more than a year post-program lend support to its sustained effectiveness. The provision of a safe learning environment, the use of small group learning techniques with mixed teaching strategies, augmented by exposure to an interprofessional faculty, contributed to the program's perceived success.

A review of 59 consecutive cases of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia seen in a colposcopy clinic between 1971 and 1984 was made. All patients presented with an abnormal Papanicolaou smear, and diagnosis was confirmed by colposcopically directed biopsy. The patients ranged in age from 23 to 72 years, with a mean age of 49. Fourteen (24%) patients were less than 40 years of age. A previous hysterectomy had been performed in 68% of patients, 42.5% of these being for benign disease. Forty-two patients (71%) had evidence of multicentric neoplasia of the lower genital tract, and 30 (51%) had been treated previously for cervical neoplasia. Twenty-nine lesions were multifocal and 52 (88%) were located in the upper third of the vagina. The results of the different modes of treatment were reviewed. Surgical extirpation gave the best results. The local ablative techniques used, ie, electrocautery and CO2 laser, were associated with failure rates of 25 and 50%, respectively. Three patients developed invasive carcinoma of the vagina after treatment.