Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study

Objectives Almost all healthcare today is team-based in collaboration over professional borders, and numerous students have work-based learning in such contexts. However, interprofessional learning (IPL) in clinical settings has mostly been systematically explored in specially designed contexts dedi...

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Main Authors: Ann Hägg-Martinell, Håkan Hult, Peter Henriksson, Anna Kiessling
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-07-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027590.full
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author Ann Hägg-Martinell
Håkan Hult
Peter Henriksson
Anna Kiessling
author_facet Ann Hägg-Martinell
Håkan Hult
Peter Henriksson
Anna Kiessling
author_sort Ann Hägg-Martinell
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Almost all healthcare today is team-based in collaboration over professional borders, and numerous students have work-based learning in such contexts. However, interprofessional learning (IPL) in clinical settings has mostly been systematically explored in specially designed contexts dedicated to interprofessional education (IPE). This study aimed to explore the possibilities for IPL activities, and if or how they occur, in an acute ward context not dedicated to IPE.Design and setting Between 2011 and 2013 ethnographic observations were performed of medical and nursing students’ interactions and IPL during early clerkship at an acute internal medicine ward in Sweden. Field notes were taken and analysed based on the framework of IPE: learning with, from and about.Participants 21 medical, 4 nursing students and 30 supervisors participated.Results Learning with—there were no organised IPE activities. Instead, medical and nursing students learnt in parallel. However, students interacted with staff members from other professions. Learning from—interprofessional supervision was frequent. Interprofessional supervision of nursing students by doctors focused on theoretical questions and answers, while interprofessional supervision of medical students by nurses focused on the performance of technical skills. Learning about—students were observed to actively observe interactions between staff and learnt how staff conducted different tasks.Conclusion This study shows that there were plenty of possibilities for IPL activities, but the potential was not fully utilised or facilitated. Serendipitous IPL activities differed between observed medical and nursing students. Although interprofessional supervision was fairly frequent, students were not learning with, from or about each other over professional borders.
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spelling doaj-art-e67714ac378b43e89be2a9a37a83b2662025-08-20T02:06:43ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-07-019710.1136/bmjopen-2018-027590Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic studyAnn Hägg-Martinell0Håkan Hult1Peter Henriksson2Anna Kiessling31 Department of Health Scinces, Roda Korsets Hogskola, Huddinge, Sweden2 Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Danderyds Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden3 Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyds Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenObjectives Almost all healthcare today is team-based in collaboration over professional borders, and numerous students have work-based learning in such contexts. However, interprofessional learning (IPL) in clinical settings has mostly been systematically explored in specially designed contexts dedicated to interprofessional education (IPE). This study aimed to explore the possibilities for IPL activities, and if or how they occur, in an acute ward context not dedicated to IPE.Design and setting Between 2011 and 2013 ethnographic observations were performed of medical and nursing students’ interactions and IPL during early clerkship at an acute internal medicine ward in Sweden. Field notes were taken and analysed based on the framework of IPE: learning with, from and about.Participants 21 medical, 4 nursing students and 30 supervisors participated.Results Learning with—there were no organised IPE activities. Instead, medical and nursing students learnt in parallel. However, students interacted with staff members from other professions. Learning from—interprofessional supervision was frequent. Interprofessional supervision of nursing students by doctors focused on theoretical questions and answers, while interprofessional supervision of medical students by nurses focused on the performance of technical skills. Learning about—students were observed to actively observe interactions between staff and learnt how staff conducted different tasks.Conclusion This study shows that there were plenty of possibilities for IPL activities, but the potential was not fully utilised or facilitated. Serendipitous IPL activities differed between observed medical and nursing students. Although interprofessional supervision was fairly frequent, students were not learning with, from or about each other over professional borders.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027590.full
spellingShingle Ann Hägg-Martinell
Håkan Hult
Peter Henriksson
Anna Kiessling
Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
BMJ Open
title Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
title_full Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
title_fullStr Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
title_full_unstemmed Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
title_short Possibilities for interprofessional learning at a Swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education: an ethnographic study
title_sort possibilities for interprofessional learning at a swedish acute healthcare ward not dedicated to interprofessional education an ethnographic study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027590.full
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