1. The Interprofessional Imperative
Professor Ivan Birch

2. Haiku To con-vey one’s mood in
sev-en-teen syll-able-s is ve-ry dif-fic
John Cooper Clarke

4. Definitions
Multiprofessional: where students from more than one profession engage in a common learning, teaching or assessment activity
Interprofessional: where students from more than one profession learn with, from and about one another through a common activity, usually in the context of practice
Transprofessional: where students study in a way that blurs or ignores traditional professional boundaries

5. professional multiprofessional interprofessional transprofessional

6. Sources 25 meetings with HEIs
35 meetings with organisations
employers, commissioners, other stakeholders including: Department of Health, NIHR, MoD, BBC, British Gas, CAIPE, CIHE, HEA
25 meetings with HEIs
students, practitioners, heads of school, deans, pro-vice chancellors

7. What do practitioners say?
a feeling of isolation on the part of interprofessional teams within their institution
a paucity of knowledge of interprofessional activity in the wider HE community
resistance to interprofessional activity on the part of the institution, where it does not align with organisational and funding structures
desire for support from senior management groups for interprofessional activity
none cited research as a current need

8. What do employers say?
interprofessional skills are now key to employability
in some fields graduates are ill equipped for the complex nature of the contemporary work place
we need problem solvers
mismatch of HE professions/disciplines with the needs of employers

9. The imperative needs of employers complex nature of the real world
complex challenges
global knowledge
global communication
‘The era where we can afford multidisciplinary groups is becoming unaffordable. We need universities to develop graduates with interdisciplinary skills, or who can lead interdisciplinary teams.’
Anne Morrison, Director of the BBC Academy

10. The imperative needs of employers needs of commissioners
needs of PSRBs
needs of students
needs of HEIs
NSS
KIS
league tables
employability

11. The imperative
role of higher education in the maintenance of a stable economy, through the production of a flexible and effective workforce
“the economic, political and environmental pressures upon higher education institutions have placed the issue of graduate employability centre stage” (HEA’s ‘Pedagogy for Employability’, 2012)
“Embedding employability into the core of higher education will continue to be a key priority of Government, universities and colleges, and employers.” (HEFCE 2011)

12. The imperative more than employment
development of the lifelong learner, equipped to support their own personal and professional development
“is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’. In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner” (Harvey, 2003)
fundamental for a multi-career future

13. The plan bring practitioners together
share the experience of healthcare with other fields
recognise the requirements of employers
recognise the requirements of other key stakeholders
identify the gaps in the evidence base
support the development of appropriate research
spread good and effective practice

14. The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little.
Mark Twain