Interprofessional clinical education: The view of clinicians’ about leadership


A recent article published in the Collegian (19 (4)189-195 2012) by Missen, Jacob, Barnett, Walker and Cross discussed the results of a study in Victoria regarding clinical placements. The authors report on the potential for interprofessional clinical education (IPE) to increase the number of undergraduate clinical placements in non-traditional areas. A finding was the key role of leadership in actioning IPE in the clinical setting. The authors build on previous work undertaken. The results of this project found there was ‘spheres of influence’ that exerted control and laid claim to how and what undergraduates did whilst on placement. These were the health care organisations, education providers and regulatory authorities.

The authors discussed the importance of leadership in ensuring that IPE was successfully implemented in the clinical undergraduate program. They mentioned the failure of explicit requirements of IPE constrained placements, as it was not viewed as an essential or valuable part of the undergraduate curriculum. This approach will continue the ‘silo’ approach that is mirrored within the academic setting. It is argued that for IPE to be successful it requires collaboration within the learning and teaching environment. Moreover, other barriers such as geography, timetabling and staff availability are also issues for the promotion of cohesive IPE opportunities. The authors concluded that leadership across the three speheres of influence needed to be demonstrated. They also re-iterated that ‘change champions’ assisted in promoting collaboration. Lastly, the authors suggested a stronger focus on IPE in the clinical setting as it has the potential to build placement capacity and better prepare undergraduate students for the reality of working within health care settings. These organisations rely on collaborative practice being essential for providing effective and efficient health outcomes for patients or clients.

The first blog in 2013  discusses the findings of a pilot project undertaken by the SNM to evaluate a clinical supervision model that could be expanded for IPE in the future.

If you have any comments about IPE, you are welcome to post them here.

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