Making interprofessional education real: a university clinic model

Abstract

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an emerging focus in the professional training of allied health students. To date, IPE has occurred in classroom teaching or case simulations, rather than in the provision of client services. At the University of Queensland, students in occupational therapy, speech pathology and music therapy participate in both on-campus and community-based IPE clinics conducted by university staff. These clinics are planned and implemented to promote interprofessional learning for students, and to provide integrated service provision for children and young people in the community. An adapted version of Bronstein's model of interdisciplinary collaboration is used to guide IPE processes, including team orientation, joint goal-setting and intervention planning, and integrated delivery of therapy sessions. The development and implementation of these IPE clinics is described, together with challenges to clinical IPE in the university context.