Reflections on an interprofessional student placement initiative in care homes

Stephens, Melanie, Kelly, Siobhan, O'Connor, Deborah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0198-1387 and McRae, Sarah (2023) Reflections on an interprofessional student placement initiative in care homes. Nursing Older People, 35 (3). pp. 36-40. ISSN 1472-0795

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Abstract

Interprofessional learning can offer students from different disciplines an opportunity to learn from, with and about each other. Additionally, practice placements in care home settings can offer students a rich learning experience. In 2021, a pilot interprofessional student placement initiative in care homes took place in the Manchester area, with three care homes and 17 students from a range of health and social care disciplines. In this article, the members of the core operational group that implemented the initiative reflect on their experiences. Using the 'What? So what? Now what?' reflective framework, they describe the context of the initiative, explore the lessons learned and make recommendations for future initiatives. The authors' intention is to inspire other educators to consider offering interprofessional placements to students, recognise the value of care homes as placement settings, and acknowledge the benefits of using reflection-in-action and reflective frameworks in healthcare education and practice.