Bioingeniøren (Aug 2011)
Interprofessional shadow practice for nursing- and biomedical laboratory scientist students. Experiences from a pilot project.
Abstract
In Norway political guidelines have been drawn up to improve the collaborative competences in public health service. It is presumed that students acquire this kind of competence during their education. This study focuses on 1) to what degree interprofessional shadowing gives learning about health workers practice and 2) students experience with interprofessional shadowing practice. Nine biomedical laboratory science students and ten nursing students from Ålesund University College in Norway participated for half a day in a medical ward and half a day at laboratories at Ålesund Hospital. The students were asked to reflect upon their experiences or make so-called reflective observations. Three focus group interviews were carried out. The interviews were transcribed and content analysis was carried out. The result shows that the students achieved some insight into each other’s practice. Students experienced the interprofessional shadowing practice as positive. However they meant that in the laboratories, the situation was too much like a guided tour.
