Partnerships for interprofessional learning: marriages and divorces Professor Hugh Barr and Dr Marion Helme Interprofessional Education Research Group (IPERG) (St George’s London and Kingston University)

The context: growth of IPE nationally and internationally World IPE and collaborative practice coordinating committee membership 2013 CAIPE: Centre for Advancement of Interprofessional Education American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC) Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) European Interprofessional Practice and Education Network (EIPEN) Australasian Interprofessional Practice and Education Network (AIPPEN) Nordic Interprofessional Network (NIPNet) Japan Association for interprofessional Education (JAIPE) Others Global Research Interprofessional Network (GRIN) Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) Western Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (WCIHC) IN2THEORY National Centre of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

IPERG Interprofessional Education Research Group Professor Hugh Barr, Dr Lynda D’Avray, Dr Marion Helme 2010 – 2013 researching the development of formal undergraduate interprofessional education in health and social care in the UK since 1997 Independent, supported by – St George’s London and Kingston University, – Professor Jill Thistlethwaite (University of Warwick/ Queensland) – UK Higher Education Academy

Developing Interprofessional Education in Health and Social Care Courses in the United Kingdom. Barr, H., Helme, M. and D’Avray, L. (2011) Occasional Paper 12 Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Health Sciences and Practice A Survey of Pre- registration Interprofessional Education in the United Kingdom Hugh Barr, Marion Helme Lynda D’Avray and Jill Thistlethwaite (awaiting on line publication, available on request from IPERG: Research strands and publications

Final IPERG report Content Update of thematic review 8 reflective studies Analysis and conclusions Recommendations Themes Starting out – impetus and opportunity Keeping going – adapting, persisting Leadership and governance Structures, systems and culture Student pathways, learning and teaching, classroom and practice Relationships and partnerships

(Some) conclusions IPE is/has been “the art of the possible”: political, complex and context dependent There is increasing evidence of (and strength in) common language, objectives, values, theoretical basis and ‘what works’ Managing the competing demands of different professions requires persistence, tenacity and flexibility Relationships and partnerships …..

‘Partnerships for IPE/IPL’ Arranged marriages? Shotgun marriages? Marriages of convenience? Third party? Polygamous marriages? Quasi incestuous relations?

Reasons to get together (institutions, organisations) to assemble the (optimum) mix of professional groups for the proposed IPE programme? to assemble the (optimum) mix of teaching resources and expertise? to include institutions lacking sufficient health and social care professions to go it alone? to strengthen applications for funding? synergy?

Survival More likely to survive if: Positive relations between people at senior levels in the HEIs/organisations? Pre-existing institutional agreements? Previous successful collaborations? Complementing (not duplicating) courses? Proximity? Adaptability? Compatible technology?

Survival Less likely to survive if: the same professions taught in [both] institutions? the institutions are obliged to compete for funding from the same sources? arrangements for partnership are too complex and too costly to sustain? the distance between the institutions is too great (geography, history)? the cultural differences are too wide? no planning for succession

Discussion questions How to prepare students to work collaboratively with professions little encountered in their training? How to maintain contact? How to maintain partnerships under conditions of uncertainty? How to manage loss, continuity and ownership of ongoing work after divorce? How to develop new relationships and minimise disruption?

For the future of undergraduate IPE … raising the stakes Improving the governance of IPE for quality and continuity Identifying explicit, equitable and comparable student pathways of interprofessional learning through the curriculum Enhancing the preparation and support for teachers and facilitators Reaching beyond health and social care