Interprofessional Education (IPE) is a pedagogical approach that brings together students from diverse healthcare disciplines to engage in collaborative learning. It aims to enhance collaboration, communication, and teamwork among health professions, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes. IPE is fully embedded in healthcare programmes for our members in Wales through the All-Wales principles for interprofessional placement learning experiences.

In this blog, written by colleagues at Swansea University (Shannon Meachen, Cardiology Senior Clinical Learning Facilitator; Charlotte Harries, Neurophysiology Lecturer & Clinical Learning Facilitator; Charlie Earle, Associate Professor in Respiratory and Sleep Healthcare Science; Danielle Fender, Audiology Clinical learning Facilitator), an approach to IPE for first year healthcare students is explored.

Each year at Swansea University, we host an Interprofessional Education (IPE) day for first-year healthcare science students across four disciplines: Cardiac Physiology, Respiratory Physiology, Audiology, and Neurophysiology. The goal is to help students appreciate the value of collaborative practice and understand how different specialisms contribute to patient-centered care.

The Activity: A Structured, Realistic Simulation

Students are mixed into interprofessional groups. Each group works with a patient volunteer who follows a prepared script based on a detailed clinical history, presenting in either a GP surgery or in A&E. Students must decipher what is wrong with the patient by taking a history and requesting diagnostic tests. Volunteers answer only the direct questions asked, encouraging students to use open-ended questioning techniques and think critically about what information they need.

The process was designed to mirror real-world clinical practice:

1. History-taking – Students gather information from the volunteer, piecing together clues from vague presenting symptoms.
2. Test selection – They then request diagnostic tests and use fake money to ‘pay’ for each test. This introduces a cost-awareness perspective, emphasising the importance of prioritising simple, non-invasive tests first.
3. Diagnosis – Test interpretation and reaching a diagnosis. Once students reach a conclusion, the volunteer confirms whether they are correct.

Following NICE guidelines is essential. For example, the syncope pathway requires a blood pressure check, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and an electroencephalogram (EEG). If students request unnecessary tests- such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans or full lung function test- they receive normal results and waste their funds. This reinforces the principle of evidence-based, cost-effective care.

The session highlights how co-morbidities can complicate clinical decision-making if students do not ask targeted questions or engage in collaborative discussion. This encourages students to consider alternative causes and avoid defaulting to a seemingly obvious diagnosis within their own discipline; promoting a truly interprofessional approach to symptom analysis and diagnostics.

The day concludes with a structured feedback session involving students, volunteers, and staff. This allows for the continuous development of the session shaped by those involved. We strive to create meaningful learning experiences that are driven by student experience; strengthening their skills in group work, collaborative practice, and effective communication, preparing them for real-world healthcare environments. Last year, 100% of students would recommend this session to others, which is testament to the quality of the teaching, the relevance of content, and the positive impact it has on their learning experience.

Volunteer reflections from previous years:

• “The students seemed to appreciate that the joined-up nature of their endeavours made them think about a wider view of patient diagnosis and treatment.”
• “The day was great, well organised and good to see cross-discipline working.”
• “It was helpful for the students to work together in this way, gaining perspective of how different departments work, issues that arise, and how individuals strive to solve them.”

Student feedback from previous years:

• “I loved working with volunteers.”
• “I got a chance to work with other disciplines and a range of scenarios which will be very useful for the future.”
• “I enjoyed the idea of mixed disciplines and that spending money was involved.”
• “I enjoyed how interactive the day was and different to what we usually do- I liked the problem-solving aspect.”

Looking Ahead

The session is very well reviewed by students and is now a core part of the module, supported by smaller preparatory workshops that help students build confidence and get the most out of the experience. It works best in person, but we’ve also designed it with online delivery in mind.

We’ve had great interest from colleagues across the faculty and are looking at ways to expand the session to include other disciplines- creating more opportunities to collaborate and connect with the wider NHS community.