Educators learning with, from and about each other: lessons from a UK project

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Educators learning with, from and about each
other lessons from a UK project

• Jill Anderson, Hilary Burgess
• and Lynn Tang
• Mental Health in Higher Education

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It is generally accepted that interprofessional
education provides a platform on which
interprofessional practice can be built.
Our starting point. . .

but
what lays the foundation for interprofessional
education?
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(No Transcript)
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Building blocks for effective practice
Effective practice
in practice Interprofessional working
in practice Interprofessional learning
for educators Interprofessional working
for educators Interprofessional learning
 
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Who are the educators?

• Academics
• Practice educators
• Service users
• Patients and carers
• Families
• Students?

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Service user and carer involvement
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Why IPE is important in mental health

• Government policy for interprofessional practice
  (e.g. new integrated trusts, 10 Essential Shared
  Capabilities, New Ways of Working, regulators
  requirements)
• Growing importance placed on the perspectives of
  service users (patients) and carers, and the
  emphasis they place on the need for collaborative
  practice

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Mental Health in Higher Education

• The Mental Health in Higher Education project
  (mhhe) aims to enhance learning and teaching
  about mental health through increasing networking
  and the sharing of approaches across the
  disciplines in higher education.

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Initial research showed

• Many mental health educators
• were isolated and had little opportunity for
  engagement with educators from other disciplines
• had difficulty in keeping up with pace of change
  in practice and policy
• Anderson, 2003

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mhhe partners

• Educators from 5 Subject Centres of the Higher
  Education Academy
• Medicine, Psychology, Social Work, Teaching,
• Health Disciplines (nursing, midwifery,
  occupational therapy, physiotherapy etc)
• 2 Universities with Centres for Mental Health
  education (Birmingham and Middlesex) and one with
  a Centre for Workforce Development in mental
  health (Lincoln)
• Developers of User and Carer Involvement in
  Education (DUCIE) network

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Information exchange mhhe

• database of MH educators, now 1000
• e-bulletin 6 times a year
• web-site
• exemplars of teaching and learning
• good practice guides e.g. Learning From
  Experience
• national electronic discussion group
• information sheets re mental health teaching in
  each discipline

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IPE for educators levels
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IPE for educators Tools

• workshops
• networking sessions
• information exchange
• web
• e-mail
• publications

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IPE for educatorsnetworking personal interests

• Teaching about arts/theatre and MH across the
  professions
• Teaching about spirituality and MH across the
  professions
• Models for involving service users in teaching
• Professional regulation requirements for teaching
  about risk and confidentiality

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IPE for Educators institutional themes and
examples

• A symposium for educators from 6 disciplines to
  share innovation and dilemmas in teaching mental
  health (University of Birmingham)
• Meeting held across disciplines in one university
  to discuss national policy development and its
  implications for practice and education

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IPE for Educators regional themes and examples

• Developing regional networks
• Assessing practice
• Use of terminology
• Teaching about values
• Updates on policy and practice
• Identifying key local regional resources
• Sharing success and challenges in working with
  other professions

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IPE for Educators national themes and examples

• Creating opportunities for dialogue, through
  national events (e.g. User involvement in
  learning and teaching about mental health)
• Showcasing innovations in MH education, including
  use of information technology
• Bringing disciplines together through the mhhe
  steering group
• Nurturing communities of practice eg the
  Developers of User and Carer Involvement (DUCIE)
  network

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IPE for educators international themes and
examples

• EIPEN

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IPE for educators some questions

• What needs to be in place if interprofessional
  learning is to take place between educators?
• To what extent are such opportunities available
  (and developed) within universities?
• How can they be enhanced?

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Enhancing IPE for educators an exercise

• Design a university/practice setting in which
  interprofessional learning opportunities for
  educators are maximised.
• How close is this picture to a description of
  your own university or practice base?
• What strategies might you introduce to enhance
  interprofessional learning opportunities for
  educators?
• What resources would be helpful?

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Contact details

• Mental Health in Higher Education
• www.mhhe.heacademy.ac.uk
• Jill Anderson j.anderson_at_lancaster.ac.uk
• Hilary Burgess h.c.burgess_at_bristol.ac.uk
• Lynn Tang l.tang_at_bham.ac.uk

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References

• Anderson J. (2003) Keeping in Touch, Mental
  Health Today, September
• Anderson, J. Burgess, H. (2007) Educators
  Learning Together linking communities of
  practice in Stickley, T. Basset, T. (eds)
  Teaching Mental Health, Chichester John Wiley
• Karban, K. Smith, S., Talking the talk and
  walking the walk developing interprofessional
  learning in higher education (Poster
  presentation)
• http//www.leedsmet.ac.uk/health/ipl/features/354
  79poster-6.pdf
• Steinert, Y. (2005) Learning together to teach
  together Interprofessional education and faculty
  development, Journal of Interprofessional Care,
  Volume 19, Supplement 1, 60-75