Dr Priya Martin1, Ms Martelle Ford, A/Prof Anne Hill, Ms Nicky Graham, A/Prof Geoff Argus
1Darling Downs Health, Toowoomba, Australia
Background: The Rural Interprofessional Education and Supervision (RIPES) model is an innovative professional entry clinical placement model, developed in Queensland, to promote interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice in rural health settings. The RIPES placement model includes tailored and targeted IPE and interprofessional supervision activities, including joint client sessions, weekly skills sessions, work shadowing and peer learning. Participants in health settings are trained and prepared to facilitate the RIPES placements. Students from two or more disciplines undertake placement concurrently, with an overlapping period of five weeks.
Methods: Five rural sites across Queensland implemented the RIPES model, with students from physiotherapy, dietetics, speech pathology and occupational therapy. A multi-methods framework was employed to evaluate clinical educator and student perceptions of the impact and value of the RIPES model at participating sites. Data collection methods included pre and post surveys, focus groups and patient activity data. So far, data has been collected from 22 clinical educators and 29 students.
Findings: Emergent findings indicate that RIPES is a feasible and useful model to promote IPE with students on placement. RIPES has also facilitated a ripple effect at participating sites, with most sites further embedding IPE and collaborative practice in their usual service delivery.
Conclusions: The RIPES model was developed for rural sites to promote IPE in student placements. Our findings indicate the model not only fosters IPE in students, but also enhances IPE and collaborative practice amongst healthcare teams. It is anticipated that these changes will positively influence patient care at these sites.
Biography:
Dr Priya Martin is a health services researcher with an interest in promoting the safety and quality of healthcare and bridging the evidence practice gap. Following completion of her multi-award winning PhD, she is undertaking a post-doctoral industry research fellowship on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical supervision of health professionals and pre-entry students in health settings in Queensland. Her areas of research expertise include health services research, mixed methods designs, program evaluation and rural workforce.