Interprofessional Education in Community Health Contexts: Preparing a Collaborative Practice-Ready Workforce

This pilot study explores an interprofessional, practice-based education initiative that placed students from four different professions (medicine, nursing, social work, and pharmacy) in a community health clinic ½ day per week for 8 months. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) How do clinic experiences contribute to students’ understanding of social determinants of health? (2) What factors influence the creation of an effective learning environment? To address these questions, we conducted a qualitative, ethnographic study that included participant observation, focus groups, and textual analysis. This study allowed us to explore the experiences of students and staff as they interacted in a community-based clinic setting. We found that the interprofessional, clinic-based experience improved students’ knowledge- and practice-based competencies in a variety of areas, including awareness of social determinants of health, skills in securing resources for patients with financial limitations, app...