The University of British Columbia model of interprofessional education

The College of Health Disciplines, at the University of British Columbia (UBC) has a long history of developing interprofessional learning opportunities for students and practitioners. Historically, many of the courses and programmes were developed because they intuitively made sense or because certain streams of funding were available at particular times. While each of them fit generally within our understanding of interprofessional education in the health and human service education programs, they were not systematically developed within an educational or theoretical framework. This paper discusses the model we have subsequently developed at the College for conceptualizing the various types of interprofessional experiences offered at UBC. It has been developed so that we can offer the broadest range of courses and most effective learning experiences for our students. Our model is based on the premise that there are optimal learning times for health and human services students (and practitioners) depending upon their stage of development as professionals in their respective disciplines and their readiness to learn and develop new perspectives on professional interaction.