At the 2025 Australian & New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE) Conference in Perth, Zoe Kumar presented findings from a mixed-method study evaluating the impact of a precinct-coordinated Interprofessional Education (IPE) program delivered through 2024. The study explored the effectiveness and sustainability of a hospital-based IPE program for healthcare students on clinical placement at the Prince of Wales Hospital Randwick and The Royal Hospital for Women.
The IPE program brought together 304 healthcare students from diverse disciplines through concise 2-hour workshops held twice monthly from April to December 2024. Each session centred on an adult patient case study, designed to showcase the unique contributions of each profession. The workshops promoted interprofessional collaboration, teamwork, and person-centred care, while minimising disruption to clinical duties and supporting long-term sustainability.
The study explored two key questions:
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How effective is a clinically based IPE program for healthcare students?
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What are the enablers and challenges to its sustainability?
Participants were invited to complete pre- and post-workshop questionnaires using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning (RIPL) scale, and face-to-face focus groups. Post-workshop data showed positive shifts across all three RIPL subscales: teamwork and collaboration, professional identity, and understanding of roles and responsibilities.
Focus group feedback revealed that students gained clearer understanding of professional roles and developed greater respect for other disciplines. Many noted that prior learning experiences lacked direct interaction, relying instead on hypothetical scenarios that limited genuine collaboration. The workshops helped dismantle hierarchical perceptions and fostered a more inclusive view of healthcare teamwork. Timing and context were also key enablers. Students appreciated that the case studies reflected real hospital settings, aligning with their placement experiences and making the learning more relevant and impactful.
Zoe Kumar reflected “This unique initiative fostered rare cross-disciplinary collaboration among students from various institutions, demonstrating the effectiveness of brief, clinically embedded interprofessional education (IPE) experiences and highlighted the need for more integrated academic-clinical IPE approaches.”
Next steps include continuing and expanding program content to deepen interprofessional engagement, enhance clinical relevance, and support sustainable integration across educational and healthcare settings.