Sixteen Months “From Square One”: The Process of Forming an Interprofessional Clinical Teaching Team

Abstract

Background: Descriptions of interprofessional education (IPE) programs and teacher competencies exist, but limited research has been undertaken about the process of IPE teaching team formation. This research project examined how pedagogically naïve clinicians of different disciplines initially formed an IPE teaching team.Methods and Findings: A case study approach was undertaken with data collected over the first sixteen months of an IPE program. Data included: audio recordings, transcripts, and field notes from nine individual teacher interviews, two teaching team focus groups, five student focus groups, and eight summary reports. Data analysis using a grounded theory constant comparison approach revealed themes relating to the formation, development, and evolving sophistication of the teaching team from functioning, to co-ordinating, to co-operating, and finally to collaborating. These stages were influenced by four external factors: remote rural context, Hauora Māori principles, personal attributes, and teacher development.Conclusions: Formation of interprofessional clinical teaching teams requires educational preparation, time learning to work with each other, and trust development, with a number of local contextual factors influencing this process. Teaching team formation paralleled Wegner’s Community of Practice model where shared vision supported the adoption of an increasingly complex IPE pedagogy.

Clinical communication skills and professionalism education are required from the beginning of medical training - a point of view of family physicians

“…These competencies involve many types of clinical contexts, including the need to be able to work in a multidisciplinary team, perform consultations, resolve conflict in order to ensure patient safety, exercise basic leadership skills and engage in the management of human and healthcare resources. Therefore, a profound immersion in the responsibilities of the workplace environment is necessary during postgraduate training [ 42 ]. The achievement of significant milestones might build the principles of professional IC and Leadership, as happens with teamwork in student–student and/or student–faculty work [ 26 , 43 ].…”

Key Strategies for First-Time Interprofessional Teachers and those Developing New Interprofessional Education Programs

“…Although, firsttime IPE teachers are generally confident in teaching profession-specific skills, they will need to learn to teach in an interprofessional way [16]. Team-teaching is an effective strategy as it enables new teachers to observe how interprofessional teaching is structured, how students are best grouped, what activities and questions are used to prompt interaction, and how experienced IPE teachers turn professionally biased student comments or feedback into learning opportunities [8,17]. Most importantly, new IPE teachers learn not to differentiate or stereotype students by professional group but rather to regard the class group as a whole.…”

Cotreatment as a Vehicle for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Physical Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists Collaborating in the Care of Children With Severe Disabilities

“…The most current IPCP writings describe team formation and functioning with the intent of improving team-based instruction and care. For example, McKinlay, Gallagher, Gray, Wilson, and Pullon (2015) provided a longitudinal report of the creation of an IPCP clinical teaching team, whereas Vasset and Almas (2015) espoused the value of peer shadowing as an IPCP learning experience. Giosa, Holyoke, Bender, Tudge, and Gifford (2015) described a framework for integrating care on the basis of observation, coaching, assistance, and collective reporting.…”