EDUCATING STUDENTS FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAMWORK IN THE CLINICAL PLACEMENT SETTING

The development of effective interprofessional teams is important to t he management of the complex health care needs of the elderly. Althoug h students are expected to function within interprofessional teams on graduation they receive limited experience in teamwork. Few models for interprofessional education have been developed that include an. eval uation component. This article describes an interprofessional educatio n experience. The purpose of the project was to develop Knowledge and skills about team functioning. Undergraduate students worked together on a clinical team and participated in weekly problem-based tutorial s essions that addressed issues concerning team functioning This project was executed within a geriatric day hospital setting. The students fo rmed their own ream within the larger clinical team. They observed and role modeled behaviors from their preceptors and learned about the th eoretical issues of team functioning within the tutorials. The experie nce was evaluated with a feedback form, exit interviews, and taped tea m conferences. Results showed that students enjoyed the experience des pite the extra work load and felt supported by other students to parti cipate and take risks within the larger clinical team. Students recomm ended greater involvement by their preceptors in the experience. A pla n for sustaining the project is discussed.