Developing an interprofessional learning culture in primary care

This paper discusses the concept of interprofessional learning based on empirical data from an evaluation of an interprofessional learning project that was set in a British primary health care centre. A process evaluation methodology was chosen to collect the data using semi-structured interviews and focus groups with stakeholders and staff to gather their experiences and views of the project and documentary data from records written over the lifetime of the project. The paper argues that an interprofessional learning culture requires time to become embedded in everyday practice and to achieve such a culture, shared values, aims and clear communication are essential. The data suggest that there is a need to recognize responsibility for one's own learning as individuals as well as learning as teams of work colleagues if interprofessional learning is to be successful. However, even when these pre-requisites of interprofessional learning are agreed and acknowledged openly in the workplace, participants in the development of a learning culture need to recognize that there are structural controls which influence and constrain such developments which are external to participants and beyond their immediate control.