Interprofessional learning in an international context: the unfamiliar as impetus for learning, also about oneself.

ABSTRACT

Studying experiences of interprofessional learning (IPL) in international contexts can contribute to better understand its nature. The aim of this study was to evaluate students' IPL in the context of a two-week study-abroad program. There were 28 health-care students from Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan, who participated in a two-week interprofessional education program provided by Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, from 2013 to 2016. The program consisted of classroom-based activities, a literature study (since 2015) and study-visits to health-care facilities. The data were two pre-course questionnaires with open-ended questions that inquired about students' motivation, expectations and goals, and one post-course questionnaire that inquired about their learning. A qualitative KJ-method analysis of students' completed questionnaires revealed two understandings about the nature of IPL. Namely, the 'unfamiliar', presented by both interprofessional and international contexts, provided students' with unique learning, with the international context reinforcing interprofessional learning. Secondly, developing one's individual collaborative skills and one's professional expertise was important aspects of their learning. International context can add value to students' IPL by affording learning opportunities considered unique to the different socio-cultural context. IPL may also pertain to 'learning about oneself', in addition to 'learning with, about and from each other'.