Student perceptions of cultural immersion during an Interprofessional programme

Area of Science:

• Indigenous Health Education
• Interprofessional Learning
• Health Professional Training

Background:

• Undergraduate health professional degrees in New Zealand incorporate indigenous (Maori) health components.
• Student feedback indicates variable impact of these components on Maori health understanding.
• Need for effective strategies to enhance indigenous health competencies among future health practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an innovative, immersive interprofessional program focused on indigenous health.
• To assess the impact of real-life exposure to an indigenous community on student learning.
• To understand how this experience complements and extends existing theoretical knowledge.

Main Methods:

• Interprofessional groups of students from seven health professions participated in a 5-week immersive program.
• Students had prior theoretical exposure to indigenous health concepts.
• Focus group discussions were conducted at the end of each program cohort.

Main Results:

• Real-life exposure to an indigenous community was positively received and often transformative for students.
• The 'lived' experience reinforced and expanded upon students' prior learning of indigenous health.
• Students reported a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Maori health issues.

Conclusions:

• Immersive interprofessional programs offer a powerful and effective method for enhancing indigenous health education.
• The program's success highlights the value of experiential learning in building cultural competency.
• A significant challenge remains in scaling this impactful learning experience to a larger student population.