Can the communities of practice model explain the complex organization of an interprofessional student-led health clinic?
Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) in healthcare has been shown to improve patient safety and healthcare staff satisfaction. However providing opportunities for pre-registration healthcare students to develop the skills required to practise in an interprofessional manner is challenging. Furthermore there is little theory-based literature exploring or describing the organization of these interprofessional student learning opportunities. This paper explores the organization of a student-led interprofessional healthcare clinic using Wenger's Communities of Practice (CoP) model as a framework. It modifies the CoP model to incorporate the routine yet shifting roles of students and patients, and builds on an earlier account of a Community of Clinical Practice (CoCP) by taking a different perspective. The CoCP model could act as a guide for the development of similar student-led interprofessional university clinics.
School of Rehabilitation and Occupation, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1020, New Zealand. Tel +6421815717. dobrien@aut.ac.nz.
Daniel
D
O'Brien
Jennie
J
Swann
Naomi
N
Heap
D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D013337:Students, Medical