All together now? Staff views and experiences of a pre-qualifying interprofessional curriculum

An interprofessional pre-qualifying curriculum for health and social care professionals was introduced at an English university in September 2000. This study explored the experiences of academic staff from a range of professional backgrounds involved in this interprofessional initiative. Data were collected via questionnaires, individual interviews and focus groups and were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Sixty-one questionnaires were returned out of a possible two hundred (response rate 30.5%); twenty-nine respondents participated in interviews and focus groups. Four main themes emerged from the data: (i) Huge: Size does matter; (ii) Isolation: Together but separate; (iii) Facilitation: Anything but easy; and (iv) Faculty: Do we walk the talk? The study found a cross-Faculty commitment to interprofessional education, but revealed considerable difficulties for those staff responsible for the management and delivery of the curriculum. The vast scale, the complex nature of interprofessional education delivery, the logistics and organizational challenges created significant difficulties for staff, who could at times feel overwhelmed and isolated. Attitudinal barriers to interprofessional education were identified, although the interprofessional curriculum had enhanced interprofessional working within the Faculty. In order to optimize the success of interprofessional education, the significant challenges that exist for academic staff must be addressed, and ownership by staff enabled.