A Common First Year in a Large Multi-disciplinary Faculty of Health Sciences.

Higher Education approaches to professional training in the health sector have moved from undergraduate to postgraduate in recent years. In Australia the health system has evolved, giving more responsibility to allied health professionals. In addition the cost of providing clinical training for students has steadily increased as has the need for qualified professionals. In response to these imperatives the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University has undertaken significant curriculum review and restructure. This has resulted in the development of a model incorporating a common first year across ten health disciplines delivered to approximately 1500 students, across five campuses. Enquiry based learning was chosen as the learning approach with the aim of establishing a collaborative learning environment to enable greater student interaction, and to engage them in an interprofessional learning experience. The revised first year curriculum was designed and developed over two years, and implemented in March 2009. Surveys of students and staff were conducted during the first year as a preliminary indicator of the experience of this altered mode of learning and teaching. This paper outlines the theoretical base for the curriculum design, the development process and provides data on initial staff and student responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]