SHARED GOALS, SHARED LEARNING - EVALUATION OF A MULTIPROFESSIONAL COURSE FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Twenty-eight undergraduate degree students from seven health care prof essions attended, a two-day pilot course. Using small multiprofessiona l groups, final-year students from occupational therapy, orthoptics, t herapy radiography, nursing, physiotherapy, medicine and dentistry exp lored professional roles and clinical problem-solving using a theme-ba sed approach. A balance of didactic and interactive small-group learni ng enabled them to identify issues surrounding multiprofessional teamw orking and collaboration in the National Health Service. Evaluation re sults showed that the course increased knowledge and understanding of other health care professions, developed more positive attitudes and d emonstrated the importance of multiprofessional teamwork and communica tion. Participating students believed that both early and regular oppo rtunities for shared learning should be essential aspects of undergrad uate courses.