Introduction/Background
Co-design in higher education helps develop productive relationships, increases appreciation and understanding of others’ roles, and lifts productivity and engagement. These benefits are also learning outcomes for interprofessional education (IPE). By using co-design with IPE, we aimed to enhance the educational experiences of emerging health professionals (EHPs) via community members’ (CMs) lived expertise. This study aimed to document the experiences and perspectives of EHPs and CMs participating in a co-design IPE initiative, “IPE@UniSC”.
Methods
IPE@UniSC was created to allow participants to learn with, from and about each other during two sequential, in-person IPE workshops. Between workshops, an asynchronous IPCP activity involved co-designing an IPE resource for future EHPs. This experiential learning was explored in focus groups recorded during Workshop 2. Additional data collection included pre- and post-workshop surveys, ascertaining participants’ learning experience impact.
EHPs (n = 9) were third- and fourth-year health students from psychology, dietetics, occupational therapy and nursing. The CMs (n =8) were aged 65+ years and had received care from three or more health professionals in the previous year.
Results/Evaluation
The findings indicated that EHPs and CMs found the experience to be valuable, providing consolidation for EHPs of theoretical learning based on real-world experiences of CMs. CMs reported workshops aided them in feeling validated and understood for their healthcare system experiences. The act of co-designing IPE learning activities for students was reportedly an enjoyable way of reinforcing new material, with participant recommendations for future iterations.
Discussion
By highlighting the perspectives of EHPs and CMs, this research presents a holistic view of IPE@UniSC and identifies potential impacts by exploring narratives and feedback. This study contributes to existing knowledge surrounding co-design methodologies in healthcare education. Future research may include the expansion of similar programs to aid EHP development and improve connections between tertiary training courses and communities.