Integration among curricula in health professionals’ education:The power of interprofessional education in undergraduate courses

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a qualitative research (case study) that aimed to understand the meanings of a multiprofessional experience in an integrative teaching activity of a public university in the South of Brazil, analyzing its potential for interprofessional education. The activity takes place in Primary Care services and data were produced by means of individual semi-structured interviews with graduates, students and a university manager, a focus group with teachers, and participant observation with records on a field diary. The data were interpreted by thematic content analysis. Integration and interaction among students, teachers and health professionals promoted learning related to collaborative competencies, characteristic of interprofessional education. Institutional, physical and pedagogical challenges for sharing experiences among professions were highlighted, as well as the need to expand interprofessional education initiatives in undergraduate health curricula.