title: Comprehensive Healthcare module: medical and pharmacy students' shared learning experiences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Comprehensive Healthcare (CHC) module was developed to introduce pre-clinical medical and pharmacy students to the concept of comprehensive healthcare. This study aims to explore their shared learning experiences within this module.
  
  
  METHODS
  During this module, medical and pharmacy students conducted visits to patients' homes and to related community-based organisations in small groups. They were required to write a reflective journal on their experiences regarding working with other professions as part of their module assessment. Highly scored reflective journals written by students from the 2011/2012 academic session were selected for analysis. Their shared learning experiences were identified via thematic analysis. We also analysed students' feedback regarding the module.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of 25 selected reflective journals revealed several important themes: 'Understanding of impact of illness and its relation to holistic care', 'Awareness of the role of various healthcare professions' and 'Generic or soft skills for inter-professional collaboration'. Although the primary objective of the module was to expose students to comprehensive healthcare, the students learnt skills required for future collaborative practice from their experiences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CHC module provided early clinical exposure to community-based health issues and incorporated some elements of inter-professional education. The students learnt about the roles of other healthcare professions and acquired soft skills required for future collaborative practice during this module.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; tce@ppukm.ukm.edu.my.
authors.forename: Chai-Eng
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jaffar
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Seng-Fah
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Majmin Sheikh
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hamzah
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nabishah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mohamad
mesh_terms: D003149:Community Dentistry / Q000193:education; D003154:Community Medicine / Q000193:education; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007858:Learning; D008296:Malaysia; D013337:Students, Medical; D013339:Students, Pharmacy; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*
keywords: comprehensive healthcare; education; inter-professional education; medical; primary healthcare; undergraduate