Who are we and what do we do?
The Faculty of Health and Social Science is a multi-professional and interdisciplinary faculty. We provide initial training and continuous professional development opportunities for counselling and psychotherapy, nursing and midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry and social work. The faculty works in close collaboration with the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and also with the Faculty of Education and Sport. As a whole, the university has a concern with the relationship between learning and teaching, professional practice and research.
Why interprofessional education?
Usually, no single profession has the expertise to meet most patients' and service users' needs, and most receive services from more than one profession or service. Evidence shows that patients' and service users' care and outcomes are improved by good and effective collaboration and joint working between professions. The importance of good collaborative working is highlighted also in a number of policy documents, for example: DH (2010) A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens; CWDC (2010) Working Together to Safeguard Children.
Thus, knowing about the roles, focus and responsibilities of other professions and learning together to support working together is vital in improving the experiences of patients and service users. There is now evidence that effective interprofessional education informs good collaborative working practice (Barr et al 2005; WHO 2010). We are concerned therefore, that practitioners have 'interprofessionally informed' professional identities (Whittington 2005), knowledge, skills and attributes.
What is interprofessional education?
The faculty uses CAIPE's (Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education) definition:
'Interprofessional Education occurs when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care'.
Like CAIPE we believe that interprofessional education can help each profession enhance its own professional practice, through gaining a deeper understanding of how its own knowledge and practice base complements and supports that of other professions.
