We have no way of knowing what doing it right is. (Fraser, a paramedic working interprofessionally in a mental health emergency) We have volumes of information telling professionals in different sectors how to work together, and why they should. We have a flurry of interprofessional education programmes to drive home the message, often embracing collaboration as inherently a good thing… Read more →
When we are on a good team, we know it. Whether in music, sports, research collaborations or workplaces, there is a mutual learning and synergy that exceeds the sum of the individual parts. Most of the literature on interprofessional teams, however, still assumes that learning occurs only within individuals; assessments typically measure the attitudes, knowledge or competencies ‘acquired’ by individuals… Read more →
There is no shortage of historical or contemporary examples of unqualified amateurs working and learning alongside qualified professionals and the boundary issues associated with defining the nature and extent of different contributions. In, for instance, health and social care, policing, some aspects of teaching, the contribution of the non-qualified volunteer can be significant. Yet while there is great attention of… Read more →