Introducing Inter-Professional Education - Benefits of Inter-Professional Education (IPE)

The assumption by the Better Together Project at the outset was that inter-professional education in the Built Environment is both a desirable and valuable experience. Evidence to support this comes from the experiences of those universities where it is well established, the views of graduates and of employers, feedback from external examiners and increasingly from the professional institutes.
For examples of the evidence we have collected see:
• Case studies of existing practice at:
http://www.bettertogether.ac.uk/resources_pages/ip_examples.cfm
• Occasional Papers at:
http://www.bettertogether.ac.uk/resources_pages/occasional_papers.cfm
• Better Together's report on employers' and graduates' requirements:
http://www.bettertogether.ac.uk/resources_pages/milestone_outputs.cfm

An extensive Internet/literature search carried out during the lifetime of this project produced a wealth of material examining a variety of inter-professional teaching, learning and working initiatives over a number of years, both at home and abroad. The majority of this material, however, has been produced by practitioners and academics within the Health environment, and little could be found relating specifically to Built Environment agendas. What we suggest, however, is that there are examples of practice which transcend disciplinary barriers, and which may offer insight into the development of an interprofessional curriculum.

The benefits of IPE can be used as a focus for discussion for staff development workshops. These and other ideas can be found at:
Staff Issues: Staff workshop ideas

Hilary Burgess, for the subject centre for Social Policy and Social Work (SWAPltsn), offers a concise overview of interprofessional education. Although directed specifically at social work, many of the elements are of relevance to Built Environment disciplines. The report can be accessed at:
http://www.swap.ac.uk/learning/ipe.asp

Desire for and Benefits of Interdisciplinary Education (Health and Social Sciences)

The general opinion in the literature is that interdisciplinary education is desirable, and there are important benefits:

• By learning and working together in educational settings, (health care) professionals will learn to work together more effectively
• Learning to work together will result in more integrated care being provided
• (Health Care) professionals will increase their respect and mutual understanding for each other
• (Health Care) professionals will be more likely to find solutions to complex problems through acquiring a broader mass of knowledge and skills
• Interdisciplinary education helps to decompartmentalise curricula and to prevent the development of a corporate mentality, which is a factor in resistance to interdisciplinary collaboration
• Interdisciplinary education permits the integration of new skills and areas of knowledge

Source: Hanvey L Project on Interdisciplinary Education in Health and Social Sciences: Report of a Literature Review, Ottawa 1995

Interdisciplinary Education in the Built Environment

"The IDBE course was a wonderful opportunity to meet with like-minded professionals and exchange notes about our experiences, recognising that some problems really are cross-discipline, cross-industry and indeed, cross-continent" University of Cambridge IDBE student. The full study can be seen at:
www.bettertogether.ac.uk/resources_pages/uploaded/cambridge%20word.doc