Entry requirements

The education follows a set course of studies, which implies that the courses should be read in an established order.

For admission to a new term, it is required that all compulsory components as well as all examinations from nearest previous semester to the new semester are completed and passed apart from three compulsory components and an examination that can remain as failed.

Learning outcomes

The course is located to interprofessional training wards (IPTW, ‘kliniska utbildningsavdelningar, KUA’ in Swedish), i.e. special units at hospital-based wards where the care is delivered primarily by students from the Medicine, Nursing and Physiotherapy programmes. The students collaborate in interprofessional teams under the guidance of profession-specific supervisors and by interprofessional learning (IPL) supervisors. In IPL, the ability to communicate and reflect on team-work is a central aspect. During the course, the students train those professional skills which are specific for a physician, together with achieving a greater understanding and respect for the other healthcare professionals' responsibilities and areas of expertise.

Aims

On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• based on the own profession relate to and interact with other healthcare professionals with safe and efficient person­oriented care and improved health as goals
• analyse and reflect on how collaboration between different healthcare professionals contributes to safe and efficient person­oriented care and improved health
• in collaboration with the team train decision-making basic diagnostic procedures and treatment, and to communicate these to the team members, patients and family care givers.

Content

The course consists of two weeks of clinical duty at an interprofessional training ward. The students work in teams consisting of medical students, nurse students and physiotherapist students and are scheduled from early morning to late evening. The medical students train their clinical skills in interprofessional teamwork with the aim to achieve an increased independence in common tasks at a ward for medically stable patients. This includes planning and performing the medical care, nursing and rehabilitation together with the other students. Information from the patient, the family care givers, the medical records and the team members constitute the basis for decisions regarding diagnostic procedures and treatment, which takes place in collaboration with the patient. Interprofessional communication around the patient's needs from a holistic perspective promotes an increased understanding and respect for one another's profession. Further, students have daily opportunities to reflect together with the IPL-supervisor on teamwork and to identify their needs of additional knowledge and skills. Leading rounds, communicating medical information to patients and participating in ‘vårdplanering’ together with municipality care professionals are examples of activities. It is the student's responsibility to use all opportunities to give and receive feedback.

Instruction

At the interprofessional training ward, supervision is provided by the attending consultant as well as by the IPL supervisor, both individually and together with the student team. All staff at the IPTW has gone through special supervisor education and they are continuously guided by the IPL supervisors. The aim is to promote novel insights in patient care and rehabilitation. The students learn with, from and about each other when they work together in teams. In parallel, the physician's role in common clinical situations is trained. The types of instruction include interprofessional teamwork, planning of medical and nursing care and rehabilitation, performing admissions and discharges, rounds, documentation and reflection.

Assessment

To pass the course, the student should have attended and actively participated in the teamwork, as decided by the IPL supervisor and the supervising physician, who also evaluate the student’s clinical skills at sit­ins. Further, approved participation in a case seminar dealing with issues relevant for the course is required. Students who fail are entitled to receive another four occasions for examination, i.e. a total of five times. If special circumstances apply, the programme committee can admit additional occasions. For rules on absences from compulsory modules and rules for participation in examination, see programme syllabus in the students' guide.

Prematurely interrupted clinical placement: A student may fail and be forced to interrupt the clinical placement prematurely if there is a noticeable risk that the student due to incompetence may injure another individual or valuable property if he or she continues the clinical placement. An individual plan should be decided for the student and be given to him or her in writing. This plan, to be decided by the programme committee, must state the knowledge and skill shortages at hand, the support the student may receive from the department and also state how and when the assessment will take place. A student is entitled to a maximum of two control occasions, however no more than once a year. The student may not participate in the clinical placement again, until the programme committee has checked and accepted the required knowledge and skills of the student. Decisions on the individual study plan may be delegated by the programme committee to a student welfare committee or equivalent with student representation.