Development of a Community Scholar Program: An Interprofessional Initiative

Abstract

Background and Purpose. The transformation of the health care system and the growing and complex needs of clients and communities make it crucial that health professionals and educators seek new methods of service delivery. There has been limited partnering with communities to address the needs around community health. The overall goal of this project was to design, implement, and evaluate a training program for an interprofessional community scholar. Method/Model Description and Evaluation. Fifteen students took part in the project, 7 physiotherapy students and 8 occupational therapy students. Three approaches were used for this training: (1) The clinical placement involved the placement of students at participating clinical sites; (2) Students met with community leaders to understand community health issues and collaborative practice solutions; and (3) Students presented cases at bi-weekly meetings and were mentored by faculty. Discussions focused on community health and interprofessional practice. Outcomes. Focus groups were held for the students, preceptors, and mentors and students wrote weekly reflective journals. Students and preceptors reflected on the complexity of the issues of delivering community-based health care. Collaborative practice engaged in by students increased efficiency and understanding of interprofessional roles. Community agencies benefitted as their clients had access to rehabilitation services. Discussion and Conclusions. The community scholar project has met a need to provide students with interprofessional educational opportunities related to community health and successful partnerships have been initiated with community agencies.