can learnwitheach other, fromeach other, andabouteach other. This approach
allows for interaction, communication, and collaboration across and within disci-
plines during the different courses of study to facilitate an understanding of the
varied specialist qualifications thus enhancing future practice in multidisciplinary
teams. The extent to which members of a team have a shared understanding will
result in better outcomes in casework. Learners who engage in educational pro-
grams that strive to develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior across pro-
fessional boundaries, will be able to respond to different knowledge bases, reflect
on their values, and thereby improve provision of services across education teams.
Three of the four courses in the program are taught interprofessionally as one
cohort, and the principles underpinning each broad domain competency in each
course are then applied to the different specialist areas. The domain competencies
include: culturally responsive practice; ethical and reflective practice; contextual-
ized practice; interprofessional practice; and evidence-based practice. Teachers
have different tasks specifically structuredwithintheir specialist area, for example,
online forums to critique specialized practices, as well asacrossspecialist areas, for
example, co-constructed glossaries to compare practices, language, values, and
approaches. The online environment allows for sharing of resources such as
assessment tools, intervention packages or good readings, bothwithinandacross
disciplines. Hence the motto of the program“learning with, from and about”is
central to the learning design of both the face-to-face and online interaction.
Teachers co-construct and collaboratewitheach other to explore their own spe-
cialist area in depth and share this with others, thus learningfromeach otherabout
the different specialisms. This shared understanding of all the specialist areas
impacts on future practice—as teachers who learn together interprofessionally,
work together more effectively in interdisciplinary teams in later practice.
The graph below outlines teachers’perceptions of their preparedness (at the
beginning of course) and their achievement (at the end of course) of key aspects of
interprofessional practice.
0 102030405060708090100Learning about other specialist areasLearning from other students in different specialist areasContributing my skills and knowledge as a specialist practitionerWorking collaboratively with colleagues across different disciplinesUnderstanding the elements of interdisciplinary practiceWorking effectively in an interdisciplinary mannerPreparedness (Beginning of Course) and achievement (End of Course) of key aspects of
Interprofessional PracticeVery Well Achieved or Achieved (End of Course)
Very Prepared or Prepared (Beginning of Course)258 M. Mentis and A. Kearney