Students improve patient care and prepare for professional practice: an interprofessional community-based study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We report on an education model that enables students to contribute to practice while experiencing the realities of complex team-working in the community. AIMS: The study considers how interprofessional learning impacts on patient care and service delivery. METHOD: A qualitative study using a realist approach. The views of practice-staff, patients and facilitators on how student team learning impacted on practice was obtained through focus groups, interviews and an e-questionnaire and compared to student analysis as feedback forms. RESULTS: Staff from six Primary Health Care Teams (n = 23) stated that the student teams had offered solutions to improve the quality of patient care and on organisational systems. The positive value of the student work was confirmed by the course facilitators (n = 8). In addition, practitioners were propelled to maintain high professional standards. Patients (n = 23) recalled benefits directly attributable to the student work confirmed by the 434 student feedback forms. CONCLUSION: Undergraduate interprofessional student teams in mid-training can support and help practice teams, and this subsequently benefits patient care. This practice-based interprofessional learning model offers learning, which is theory-based, and supports positive student contributions. This learning fits today's requirements for positive outcomes from education when mapped against the Kirkpatrick or the NHS (UK) education outcomes framework.