Inter-professional practice and education in health and social care

The modern landscape within which nursing is undertaken has two interrelated defining features: firstly, the importance of putting the patient at the centre of all aspects of practice, and secondly, working in partnership with a whole range of human service organisations to provide a coherent, seamless service to the patient/ service user (Secretary of State for Health, 2000). In this chapter we will examine the imperative for nurses to understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to both other health professionals and other professional or disciplinary groups, and we will consider how this understanding may be developed in both pre – registration training and in post - registration practice settings.