A practice model for interprofessional education in a first year anatomy class

Interprofessional Education (IPE), at its best, provides students with an opportunity to work as a collaborative team of health care practitioners in different contexts. In the context of health professionals' education, IPE refers to "occasions when two or more professions learn together with the object of cultivating collaborative practice, or when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. A practice model embedded in the theory of constructivism has been developed for IPE and implemented in undergraduate health professions training in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to build on this model and determine its appropriateness for IPE implementation with first year students in a health professions faculty. A mixed method approach with a multi-phase design was adopted using focus groups with students and facilitators, reflective journals from students and facilitators and an end-of-process questionnaire completed by students. The results from the qualitative and quantitative data confirmed that the practice model was suitable for IPE.