Experiences from an interprofessional student-assisted chronic disease clinic

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Allied Health Workforce Development
• Interprofessional Education

Background:

• Central Queensland Health Service District (CQHSD) faced regional health and workforce challenges.
• A student-assisted clinical service model was implemented to address these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the early experiences of students in the Capricornia Allied Health Partnership (CAHP) interprofessional clinical placement program.
• To assess the impact of the program on addressing service delivery gaps for chronic disease patients.
• To explore the program's role in developing future allied health professionals with interprofessional capacity.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an interprofessional clinical placement program involving pre-entry students.
• Embedding students in a collaborative chronic disease service delivery model.
• Coordination of multiple student clinical placements for early intervention and management.

Main Results:

• The CAHP clinic commenced student placements and client services in February 2010.
• Early evaluative information regarding student experiences was collected.
• Self-reported changes in student practice were assessed.

Conclusions:

• The CAHP program addresses service delivery gaps in chronic disease management.
• It offers valuable clinical placement opportunities, potentially aiding future recruitment.
• The initiative demonstrates leadership in training future health workforce trainees with interprofessional capacity.