Sustainability in health professional education : a qualitative inquiry into interprofessional education

Abstract

This paper emerges from a qualitative case study analysis undertaken to explore the concept of pre-registration interprofessional education (IPE) as a possible model of practice at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. IPE, which is defined as “occasions when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care” does not form part of undergraduate professional health education curricula at the Faculty of Health Sciences. A qualitative case study approach underpinned by a social constructionist and interpretative perspective was employed so as to to explore stakeholders’ perspectives of IPE and to encourage debate around such a pedagogical approach. The purposive sample totaled sixty-four participants and these included academics at the Faculty of Health Sciences, key informants from the education and health sectors and newly qualified health professionals. Data was gathered through a combination of focus group discussions, one-to-one interviews and a systematic documentary search, and analysed using Ritchie and Spencer’s (1994) ‘Framework’ analysis supported by NVivo software. Findings yielded rich insights into participants’ perceptions of IPE; while they lauded the notion in principle, they identified a multiplicity of factors that would pose barriers to its enactment in practice. The many barriers identified were relational as well as rooted in the practical and organisational domain. Others related to the broader cultural landscape. These findings were interpreted through various theoretical perspectives so as to provide understandings and insights into these barriers as well as to portray the story of the case. This paper touches on some salient points from this study and underscores how qualitative inquiry can further the sustainability agenda; in this case improving health professional education for a sustainable health workforce. It questions the rhetoric and complexity of interdisciplinarity and provides insights regarding the challenges of innovation. Addressing them might support positive changes at deeper levels, possibly leading to research-based initiatives.