Caring For Kids Where They Live: interprofessional collaboration in teaching and learning in school settings

Across North America, educators are challenged with finding learning opportunities for students in the health professions. Faculty members with a pediatric specialization in nursing recognized that schools were an ideal setting to provide children with care from the health continuum including health promotion, assessment and treatment, and chronic disease management. The faculty of nursing at a Western Canadian University established a unique educational approach by creating an interprofessional pediatric clinical learning experience titled, Caring For Kids Where They Live. This practicum brings together students in the health professions (nurses, dentists, and kinesiologists) and students and their families from three urban schools; one elementary school and two high schools. The primary goals of this partnership were to create an interprofessional clinical learning experience and to promote health and wellness of children and youth. This initiative far exceeded the initial goals. This descriptive article with the use of reflective elements from student journals, identifies learning that occurred in an environment whereby students from the health professions had the opportunity to meet and interact, to collaborate, and to gain experience in caring for children and youth.