Learning together in medical and nursing training: aspirations and activity

Context Policy documents about service innovation, education priorities and professional development exhort professions to learn together and work col laboratively. However, the literature suggests that the existence of shared learning in medical and nursing pre-qualifying education is patchy. Aim This paper does not claim to be research. It sets out to reflect on the trends and tensions in key policy directions, relating these to aspiration s and a mapping of current intiatives in the sphere of medical and nursing pre-qualifying education. Approach A limited national information gathering exercise was conducted du ring the planning phase of seminars hosted by the Centre for the Advancemen t of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) in 1996 and 1997. This involved di rectly contacting all medical schools and departments of nursing and midwif ery in geographical proximity, or with an institutional relationship. Infor mation was sought on current or planned activity in shared learning, define d as medical and nursing students and/or working together. Emerging themes There were a few examples of shared learning identified by the mapping exercise. The paper discusses these and draws on the consensus that emerged from the seminars on objectives and topics for shared learning . It concludes with a discussion of what makes for success or failure in su ch ventures with suggestions for future educational policy development.