Conscious Competence in Interprofessional Learning in Healthcare Education

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. The delivery of effective, high-quality patient care is a highly complex activity, demanding health and social care professionals to collaborate in an effective manner. Interprofessional learning (IPL) is professionally relevant, intellectually stimulating and evidence based. New learning paradigms for healthcare professionals explore new ways to combine expertise, delivering IPL programmes where patient safety and quality of care can be improved (WHO 2010). Intervening early in the health professional's career with collaborative activities with IPL is now considered important in healthcare training. Development of multidisciplinary student centred ideas hopefully results in the enhancement of patient-centred care. Conscious competence in understanding the benefits of IPL is needed to recognise those that are naïve to IPL and competent professionals who are able to design new curricular and deliver training to address unconscious incompetence to IPL. There are many diverse theories applied to IPL where theory is observation of practice, confirmed by practice. Much development and consolidation of IPL theory is needed.No one healthcare profession can give complete healthcare single-handed.