Interprofessional education: its use in collaborative learning among healthcare professionals
Keywords:
Interprofessional education; collaborative learning; primary health care; interdisciplinary practiceAbstract
Introduction: Interprofessional education is recognized as a pedagogical strategy that promotes collaborative learning in healthcare and safe medical care provided by cohesive multidisciplinary teams for the benefit of the community; however, in practice, there are issues that hinder its proper implementation in primary health care (PHC).
Objective: To describe the current role of interprofessional education as a pedagogical tool for team-based learning in healthcare and its implementation in primary care.
Method: A literature review was conducted based on research articles published in the past five years in the following databases: the U.S. National Library of Medicine, UpToDate, DynaMed, MedScape, PubMed, SciELO, and The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The following health-related search terms were used: interprofessional education, collaborative learning, primary health care, and interdisciplinary practice. The selected articles are based on recent scientific evidence.
Development: Interprofessional education, characterized by the exchange of knowledge and practices among students and/or professionals from two or more professions, facilitates effective collaboration and improves health outcomes. Collaboration in the training of health professionals promotes person-centered or family-centered care, which enhances health coverage.
Conclusions: Interprofessional education promotes collaborative learning in healthcare, contributes to professionals’ performance, and enables them to work and collaborate with other members of the Basic Health Team (BHT) within the context of primary health care (PHC).
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