Aligning inter-professional learning within Allied Health curricula to the discipline-specific professional competency standards and university interprofessional education accreditation requirement
Ms Shari Maver
Aim: To identify needs and opportunities for targeted development of embedded inter-professional education within School of Allied Health programs.Design: An iterative, consultative and systematic curricula mapping process was used by a collaborative interprofessional team within the School of Allied Health at a national university in accordance with scholarly literature.
Method: A mapping tool was purpose designed to map current curricula interprofessional learning to the (a) Australian Catholic University Interprofessional Education Framework, (b) competency standards and (c) accreditation standards in each discipline.
Results: Disciplines varied in how their current curriculum met International Education Framework domains, competency standards, and accreditation requirements. All disciplines at least partially met relevant accreditation and professional competency standards. This project has provided a ‘road map’ to enable the school to plan and further develop interprofessional curricula and meet competency standards in each profession.
Conclusion: Needs and opportunities for targeted development of embedded inter-professional education within School of Allied Health programs were identified. In this presentation we will provide an overview of the ACU IPE Framework and share the curricula mapping tools we developed and the processes we used to support this work. This information will enable the school to apply a rigorous and defensible approach to embedding further interprofessional education in our degree programs and allow students to reach entry-to practice interprofessional capabilities. It can also be used by other programs within ACU to identify and develop interprofessional opportunities.
Learning is best when it is shared: Do videoed case scenarios support interprofessional learning in an allied health neuroscience unit?
Assoc Professor Belinda Bilney
The unit, ALHT210: Neuroscience for Allied Health, is but one example of how interprofessional education (IPE) is being embedded into the second year of undergraduate allied health programs at Australian Catholic University. One challenge in delivering an interprofessional unit such as this, is to engage students with content that they may perceive has limited relevance to their discipline presently, but is paramount to their ability to provide collaborative client centred health care in the future (Bogossian et al., 2023).
The purpose of this action research project is to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of four ‘pilot’ videoed case studies in facilitating interprofessional learning in ALHT210. Each case study incorporated short, recorded interviews with people living with a neurological condition and allied health clinicians who provide interprofessional assessment and management to this clinical population. In the first action research cycle, five teaching staff participated in two online focus groups discussions, reflecting on the effectiveness of the videoed case studies for student learning, and proposing modifications for implementation in the second iteration of the unit in 2024.
This presentation will discuss how a thematic analysis of these discussions have contributed to (i) evidence informed revisions of the videoed case studies, and (ii) the scholarship of IPE design, specifically utilising videoed case studies (co-developed with clients, families, and clinicians) to connect student learning with clinical practice. Plans to evaluate the recommended revisions to the ‘pilot’ videoed case studies, in the second research cycle, from the perspectives of students, will also be outlined.
Bogossian, F., New, K., George, K., Barr, N., Dodd, N., Hamilton, A. L., Nash, G., Masters, N., Pelly, F., Reid, C., Shakhovskoy, R., & Taylor, J. (2023). The implementation of interprofessional education: a scoping review. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract, 28(1), 243-277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-022-10128-4
Student Panel: Student perspectives of learning at ACU
Anneliese Broom, Darcy Irvin, Isla Russell and Jessica Campbell
A panel of students studying at the Ballarat campus, representing a range of disciplines at various points of their academic journey will participate in a session facilitated by the MC. Each student will speak to the reasons for their program selection, their professional goals and aspirations, their experience at ACU, what has and has not worked well for them on their learning journey, and suggestions for what could be done to improve the learning experience. To conclude, there will be a Q&A session in which showcase attendees are encouraged to participate.
ACU Thrive: A year in review
Ms Shari Maver and Mr Luke Bendle
In 2023, ACU piloted a first-year undergraduate teaching model founded on transition pedagogy (Kift, 2015) across four large courses: Physiotherapy, Nursing, Nursing/Paramedicine, and Education. This initiative was titled ACU Thrive. As the dust settles on the academic year, it’s timely to review ACU Thrive. This presentation will overview why ACU Thrive was initiated, the work that was involved, and the preliminary outcomes of Semester 1 and 2 for 2023.
Academics directly involved in the delivery of ACU Thrive will present about their experiences, as well as share broader outcomes related to the initiatives. These outcomes will include SELT data, LEO engagement data, Echo360 data, success rates, and retention rates. Commentary will be offered about the successes of the work, as well as the opportunities for future innovation and improvement. The presentation is an opportunity for the ACU community to hear more about ACU Thrive, as well as receive first-hand anecdotes from those who were involved.
Kift, S. (2015). A decade of transition pedagogy: A quantum leap in conceptualising the first year experience. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 2(1), 51-86.
Post Placement workshops to increase preservice teachers’ self efficacy in professional experience
Dr Kathleen McGuire
The Post Placement Workshop (PPW) project is an innovative initiative responding to pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) self-identified needs via meaningful deconstruction of their professional placement experiences. In response to current stressors on Australian education systems such as an acute teacher shortage (Caudal, 2022) and significant numbers of early career teachers leaving the profession (Hogan et al., 2021), this presentation details the value and need for post placement workshops in Initial Teacher Education (ITE).
The project builds on previous research around post-placement interventions in the Health Sciences (Billett, 2019). The PPW project is supported by an ACU Teaching Development grant. It connects ITE PSTs with new graduates and experienced educators with a focus on addressing PSTs’ self-efficacy, resilience, and teacher identity. The purpose of the PPWs is to identify current issues that impact PSTs on placements and provide them with a realistic appreciation of the standards required in their respective industries (Jackson, 2015). Through professional conversations and active learning processes, PSTs receive advice for negotiating unanticipated situations, strategies for identifying strengths and goals, and scaffolding purposeful reflection on a range of self and peer experiences.
Results indicate that PPWs evidence a range of tangible and meaningful impacts on end users. The translation of findings is applicable to all disciplines that incorporate WIL placements (Cain et al., 2019). The presenters will provide an overview of the project and key elements in successfully delivering PPWs both in person and in hybrid mode using ACU’s Hyflex technology. They will present a summary of the data collected to date through pre-and post- surveys and interviews and present a conceptual framework which explains how PPWs promote mutually beneficial collaborations with key end-users and a Mission-aligned contribution to society.
Billett, S. Augmenting post-practicum experiences: Purposes and practices. In S. Billett, J. Newton, G. Rogers, & C. Noble (2019). Augmenting health and social care students’ clinical learning experiences outcomes and processes, 3-26. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05560-8
Cain, M., Le, A. H., & Billett, S. (2019). Sharing stories and building resilience: Student preferences and processes of post practicum interventions. In Billett, S., Newton, J., Rogers, G., & Noble, C. (Eds.). Augmenting health and social care students’ clinical learning experiences: Processes and outcomes. Springer, pp. 27-53. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-05560-8
Caudal, S. (2022). Australian secondary schools and the teacher crisis: Understanding teacher shortages and attrition. Education and Society 40(2), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.7459/es/40.2.03
Hogan, J. P., & White, P. (2021). A self-study exploration of early career teacher burnout and the adaptive strategies of experienced teachers. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(5), 18-39. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2021v46n5.2
Jackson, D. (2015). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education 40(2), 350-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.842221