Students’ experiences of inter-professional education through International Classification of Functioning-based activities at a community-based rehabilitation centre

Abstract

The education of health professionals needs to respond to new health challenges, health science developments and health needs of society to strengthen the health system. Frenk et al. [1] reported the findings of the Lancet's Global Independent Commission into the Education of Health Professionals for the 21st century, and stated that the education of health professionals has not kept pace with the major challenges of providing health security to all. Some of the problems mentioned by the Commission include: poor teamwork; narrow technical focus without broader contextual understanding; mismatch of competencies with regard to patient and population needs; episodic encounters rather than continuous care; and predominant hospital orientation at the expense of primary care. The Commission believes that academic institutions are liable for these problems, as curricula are fragmented, outdated and static. [1] The training of healthcare professionals is indeed a challenge and needs to ensure that entry-level professionals are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to provide the highest standard of care for their clients. In South Africa (SA), the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) promotes the health of all South Africans 'by determining standards of professional education and training and setting and maintaining the highest standards of professional and ethical behaviour for its registered healthcare professionals' . [2] This is achieved by establishing and monitoring the standards of professional education and training of the different healthcare professionals and setting standards for professional and ethical conduct of qualified professionals registered with the HPCSA. The different professional bodies each have guidelines that determine the content of the different courses, but the core ethical values and standards for good practice are generic and apply to all healthcare professionals. The core ethical values and standards for good practice are respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, human rights, autonomy, integrity, truthfulness, confidentiality, compassion, tolerance and justice. [3] Training for the healthcare professions has to include a comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of all South Africans, including skills to provide health promotion, health prevention, and curative and rehabilitation services. Healthcare professionals also need to be trained in social and technical skills to work together as a team. [4] Since 1993, the healthcare system in SA has been expanded, transformed and revitalised, and parallel to this there have been major growth and developments in health science, professional education and training. [5] Concurrently, an increased understanding of the value and need to include inter-professional education (IPE) in the training of healthcare students has developed. [1,6] IPE is defined as: 'When two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care' . [7] IPE can be utilised to prepare...

Transformation of learning and teaching in rehabilitation sciences: A case study from South Africa

“…This study, however, demonstrates the perceived value of using the ICF Framework by an interprofessional team more widely than within a specific health sciences discipline as part of the process of achieving IPECP. Our findings support the notion of Kloppers et al (2015) that the ICF Framework holds greater potential as a tool for IPE when used by an interprofessional team of students in the clinical setting (Kloppers et al 2015).…”

“…The ICF Framework has been officially approved by 191 member states of the WHO worldwide, including South Africa, as the international standard for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels (WHO 2001). In South Africa, the ICF Framework is used by institutions of higher education to facilitate holistic understanding and management planning of persons with disability by health care professionals and health sciences students from more than one university (Kloppers et al 2015;Rhoda et al 2016). Apart from its clinical and research application, the ICF Framework has been identified and successfully used as a strategy to promote holistic patient management and interprofessional collaboration not only with UG students in South Africa (Allan et al 2006;Jelsma & Scott 2011;Kloppers et al 2015;Rhoda et al 2016;Snyman, Von Pressentin & Clarke 2015) but also with clinicians working in the African public sector (Hall & Visagie 2020;Sagahutu 2018).…”

“…Students using the ICF Framework during patient management at a district health clinic reported that positive interprofessional learning occurred and recommendations were made to explore the potential value of using the ICF Framework as a team to promote IPE (Kloppers et al 2015). Using the ICF Framework to promote interprofessional learning is therefore not a new concept; however, understanding whether it results in the required IPE needed for IPCP still needs to be explored.…”

“A way to think of the client holistically”: Factors influencing speech-language pathology students’ ICF regard and uptake

“…The likely reason is that they are not typically working interprofessionally on placement ( Ramklass, 2015 ). Positive student experiences have been achieved by basing shared learning experiences around the ICF: by experienced PEs modelling interprofessional practice ( Snyman, Von Pressentin and Clarke, 2015 ), by following a simple structured tutorial process ( Cahill et al , 2013 ), and holding regular interprofessional team discussions, carrying out joint treatment sessions and home visits, and socialising together ( Kloppers et al , 2015 ). Learning occurs through interaction with others in a work context.…”

Towards a framework for the scale-up of rehabilitation for patients with non-communicable disease in low-resource settings

“…The specific community is one of many historically displaced communities in Cape Town: an urban settlement of >54,000 residents battling adverse social determinants of health, including (extreme) poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, gangsterism, trauma, and limited access to (quality) education. (19) The rehabilitation unit is a service-learning site,(20) providing a variety of rehabilitation services through the placement of undergraduate students in training under supervision of government-funded university lecturing staff. Patients offered the program could make an informed decision to participate (similar to decision making within routine clinical practice).…”