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Purpose Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among health professionals is well‐recognised to enhance care delivery and patient outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that the early socialisation of students in health professional programmes to teamwork may have a positive impact on their future as collaborative practitioners. With a purpose of contributing to growing evidence on the processes of professional identity construction, and to explore how early expectations and perceptions of IPC develop during professional socialisation and pre‐licensure education, our study examined the early professional socialisation experiences among five groups of health professional students. Method A qualitative, narrative approach was used to examine early professional socialisation among five programmes of health professional students (dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy) at an Atlantic Canadian University. In March and October 2016, students participated in interviews after first term (n = 44) and first year of study (n = 39). Interviews focused on participants’ professional identify formation, as well as their perceptions and experiences of IPC. The authors analysed interview transcripts using narrative analysis. Results Findings identify that despite the espoused importance of IPC within health professional training, students have a limited understanding of their professional roles and are largely focused on developing a uniprofessional, vs. interprofessional identity. Clinical experiences, role models and exposure to teamwork are critical to contextualise collaborative practice and enhance the development of an interprofessional identity. Conclusions Findings can be used to guide the development of curricula that promote interprofessional identity development and IPC during early professional socialisation.

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The School of Social Work Community Clinic opened its doors in June, 2014 in a donated space in a local parish hall. With very few resources initially the clinic now has its own rented space, serves a caseload of over 200 marginalized community members and has provided field placement experiences for over 75 BSW/MSW, pharmacy, psychology, nutrition, nursing, and occupational therapy students. In this article, we will highlight the steps we took to create and develop the Clinic with a social justice/anti-oppressive foundation, and the practice-teaching approaches we use with our students. We will also describe how we are integrating an interprofessional and community-university partnership culture in our day-to-day work with marginalized populations. This process will be described and discussed in relation to both interprofessional health education and the provision of relevant and meaningful services to clients. The community development techniques we used to develop our clinic and how we have been able to grow and expand will be highlighted. The partners we have established in government, the university, and the community that have contributed to a more sustainable future are also described.