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This paper aims to encourage and promote further discussion around the theme of the theory and practice gap in the teaching and practice of interprofessional education (IPE) in pre-registration health and social care. Following a brief history of IPE, we consider the importance of providing students with supported opportunities to observe, learn and put into practice IPE. We also highlight the necessity of involving practitioners in creating health professionals who are 'fit for purpose' at qualification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated working can be a means of providing efficient and cost-effective care, which benefits both service users and health professionals. However, it does require readiness of practitioners to work in new and innovative ways to achieve integration. This paper describes the findings of a qualitative study exploring the nature of practice-based education and training underpinning successful integrated care teams using an ecological systems theory lens. Nine teams in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom (UK) participated in this study. A total of 27 participants were involved in semi-structured interviews during which they shared their views and experiences of learning in practice. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted the shifting context of working in integrated teams impacting on learning, the influence of leadership on education and training, the nature of in-service training, and the knowledge-sharing culture. The findings highlight that the learning climate is highly dependent on the leadership ethos in the practice context, which influences the allocation of time and resources for training and clinical supervision. Whilst formal education and training has an important role to play in fostering integrated working, informal learning is pivotal to successful integration and potentially has greater impact making it worthy of further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "A Reflection On: Interprofessional Working in Practice -- Avoiding the Theory-Practice Gap" reflects on the concept of interprofessional working in the health and social care sector. It discusses the importance of integrating interprofessional education (IPE) into curricula to develop professionals who are prepared for collaborative practice. The article also highlights the role of organizations like the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) in providing guidance and support for curriculum development. It emphasizes the need to address the theory-practice gap to improve the quality of patient care. The article acknowledges the progress made in IPE, particularly in terms of simulation and safe practice opportunities for students. It also mentions the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on collaborative working and emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and striving for a world where collaborative working is the norm. [Extracted from the article]

In the time of COVID-19, universities have been forced to engage with online learning more than ever before. The facilitator is a key player in the orchestration of online learning and as such, this paper seeks to present a radical reworking of the Garrison and Archer Community of Inquiry model that emphasizes the importance of a therapeutic presence in online interprofessional facilitation. Drawn from a strand of inductive empirical qualitative research based on 15 years' experience of online interprofessional education, this paper employs a therapeutic lens to propose the good enough facilitator as a theoretical construct that emphasizes the importance of the facilitator understanding when to intervene and when to retreat within the online space. Online interprofessional asynchronous discussion groups are explored to illustrate the value of the good enough facilitator in online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role does social media play for interprofessional education in a pandemic? This is the first pandemic to occur in a world filled with social media, where digital communication is ubiquitous and a high percentage of those affected are digitally literate. This paper situated within a United Kingdom (UK) context explores this new phenomenon, discussing the ways in which digital gift giving toward health and social care professionals has developed on a variety of social media platforms. This discussion proposes a theoretical understanding of digital gift giving and raises the importance of digital resilience for interprofessional learning and working. Reflections are made on the expected and imagined reciprocity of digital gift giving and the talismanic nature of employing symbols digitally to ward off COVID-19. This paper employs an ethnographic lens to unpack the issue of digital gift giving and recommends preparing students for the onslaught of digital gifts they may be exposed to upon entering the workplace. Academics are called on as the mediators of these recommendations, and suggestions are made as to how students can be best prepared for a digitally saturated interprofessional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article relates the findings of a discourse analysis of an online asynchronous interprofessional learning initiative involving two UK universities. The impact of the initiative is traced over three intensive periods of online interaction, each of several-weeks duration occurring over a three-year period, through an analysis of a random sample of discussion forum threads. The corpus of rich data drawn from the forums is interpreted using ecological systems theory, which highlights the complexity of interaction of individual, social and cultural elements. Ecological systems theory adopts a life course approach to understand how development occurs through processes of progressively more complex reciprocal interaction between people and their environment. This lens provides a novel approach for analysis and interpretation of findings with respect to the impact of pre-registration interprofessional education and the interaction between the individual and their social and cultural contexts as they progress through 3/4 years of their programmes. Development is mapped over time (the chronosystem) to highlight the complexity of interaction across microsystems (individual), mesosystems (curriculum and institutional/care settings), exosystems (community/wider local context), and macrosystems (national context and culture). This article illustrates the intricacies of students’ interprofessional development over time and the interactive effects of social ecological components in terms of professional knowledge and understanding, wider appreciation of health and social care culture and identity work. The implications for contemporary pre-registration interprofessional education and the usefulness and applicability of ecological systems theory for future research and development are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of virtual reality (VR) for experiential learning in dementia training. People have different perceptions and understanding of what it is like to live with dementia, particularly those that are new to dementia care, whether in a professional capacity, or as a friend or family member. Arguably the most powerful way in which to enhance understanding is to give people a glimpse of what living with dementia might be like. Design/methodology/approach – The myShoes project aimed to create a resource that would augment a virtual environment and expose the user to an experience that gives them a sense of what living with dementia might be like. The resource was created using the latest VR and game development software. A sample group of students from a mixed range of health professions tested the resource providing in depth feedback on its immediate impact and ideas for further development. Findings – Notwithstanding the limited sample on which the simulation has been tested, carefully designing the activities and constructing a learning space that allows for reflection on being placed temporarily in another person’s shoes, appears to have enabled students to think beyond ‘treatment, to considering how the person might feel and altering their approach accordingly. Research limitations/implications – This is a pilot study. More research using VR as a training resource is planned. Practical implications – The study will support educational training, particularly that which uses virtual reality for clinicians and carers. Social implications – The adoption of a VR approach to training formal and informal carers has potential to enhance empathy and improve holistic care of people with dementia. Originality/value – The myShoes project adopts a novel approach to simulating the effects of dementia for training purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with identifying ways of facilitating 'meaningful disagreement' amongst students in interprofessional online discussion forums. It builds on previous research that identified a trend toward polite agreement and only limited evidence of disagreement in this setting. Given the suggestion that disagreement indicates a deeper level of engagement in group discussion and therefore leads to deeper learning, our aim was to critique the pedagogical approach adopted by analyzing whether we were promoting a particular interprofessional discourse amongst students that favored agreement and therefore limited potential learning. Agreement in this context has been conceptualized as a form of online interprofessional 'netiquette' existing amongst participants. Findings suggest that creating an online context for critical discourse is challenging; however, the careful construction of learning outcomes, trigger material/resources and learning activities, as well as attention to students' stage of study and life experience, can provoke the desired effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests that ''agreement'' is a predominant feature of online discussions amongst undergraduate health and social care professionals, which is an area of concern. The context for the research is an online interprofessional learning pathway completed by ∼∼2,800 students each year. The concept of agreement, how and why it is reached and what it indicates in an online interprofessional group is examined. The underpinning educational rationale for instigating online interprofessional dialogue was the potential to provide a powerful interface for bringing together students across a wide range of professional groups, which is necessary to promote interprofessional learning. Discourse analysis was used to analyze digital texts of interaction in online forums. The discussion forum discourse shows evidence of increased interprofessional knowledge and understanding, as well as capacity for interprofessional dialogue. Discussions were largely characterized by agreement, although some disagreement was evident. These findings support previous research in online dialogue. However, they are interpreted in an interprofessional context as constituting a specific type of ''netiquette'' in relation to the participants and their identification with professional discourses and to the learning activities that shaped discussions. The research has significance for teachers, researchers, and practitioners involved in promoting interprofessional learning through online discussion forums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the importance of giving academics the space to be creative in developing new teaching materials in the context of a government drive to increase the quality of the student experience, and what this means for 'academic staff development'. Academics who have engaged with a UK Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in one institution were interviewed about their experiences of the creative process and the reward and recognition strategies put in place to support its activities. The paper acknowledges the pressures and challenges facing academic staff in attempting to develop innovative materials, yet find that enthusiasm for looking at new ways of teaching and learning is still fervent. The paper argues that financial rewards are least important to staff when undertaking projects with the CETL, yet to managers with targets for income it is perceived as a priority. The importance of a supportive team and environment when engaging with CETLs is evident in building staff capacity and developing skills to take learning to a new level. A model of engaging with the CETL in creating e-learning materials is suggested to illustrate the stages academics go through in the pursuit of developing innovative exemplars of best practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a research report on setting up interprofessional learning within a secondary care setting. The section highlights several issues faced when attempting to deliver university-based curricula within practice. It determines that organizational structure impacts heavily on even minor changes, developing new activities in a climate of perpetual change is difficult, and despite best efforts service needs will always come before educational initiatives.

The article provides information on e-learning. It features two modules involving Year 2 medical students with different objectives but a common e-learning patient journey. It compares the concept of 'Learning from Lives' (LFL) and 'Interprofessional Learning Pathway' (IPLP). It also discusses the significance of ideas in LFL and IPLP to medical and interprofessional students. An evaluation of LFL and IPLP participation to the students is also presented.