The Partnered Learning Project
IPC Team Resource Kit:
An Aid to Designing and Implementing Interprofessional Collaboration Workshops for Clinical Healthcare Teams
3.0 Organizing Workshops
Process | Materials | Experience/Lessons | Ongoing Challenges
The PLP found each of the partner institutions had its own culture for professional development. Additionally, within any given organization, each team had developed its own approach to learning. Furthermore, learning with the team as the focus (vs. the individual) was not necessarily a common experience. The result was that effective organization of the team workshop was critical to achieving credibility and engagement by sufficient numbers of staff to create the interprofessional learning experience we were aiming for. Our organizing strategies focused on learning about and being sensitive to the team’s daily practice and culture, identifying and working with the group’s natural leaders, and minimizing the disruption to the clinical focus of the ongoing work.
- The PLP group actively sought out a team leader or project champion in every instance.
- Communication about the upcoming workshop was reinforced through several emails. Email seemed to be the preferred communication method. Care was taken in preparing the communications to convey the benefits of participation to the team briefly and in simple language. Notice of the scheduled project introduction meeting and workshop was given well in advance. Participants asked for email reminders at appropriate points before these events.
- Organizing PLP involvement and communicating with the team was easier and helped ensure all team members were included when there was a designated team administrator with whom we could work.
- The Team Training Lead crafted the content of messages to staff participants to ensure the accuracy of the content and to minimize the work for clinical team members. Input was solicited from a team leader or administrative assistant as to language and distribution protocols that would work best for that team.
- The pilot workshop involved two four-hour sessions, held a week apart. This approach was quickly shown to be problematic. The pilot participants indicated that the total time was too long. Attendance at the second session involved different participants from the first workshop. The change in participants from the first to the second session created confusion with the planned learning activities. For subsequent workshops the length of the workshop was reduced and only one session was scheduled.
- Communication and organizing efforts proceeded more smoothly and workshop attendance was higher where a project champion emerged. These champions provided invaluable assistance through facilitating entrance by the researchers to appropriate clinical practice situations (e.g. rounds, team meetings, clinic settings), and actively promoting the potential benefits of team participation to their colleagues. Project champions were also able to advise us further about team culture, scheduling practices, and perceived team learning needs.
- Since participation in PLP workshops was voluntary we did not request attendance confirmation for the early workshops. This proved problematic for workshop leaders. Role play situations in the curriculum were designed to be most effective with a minimum number of participants and professions being represented. If these numbers were not met the facilitators would have to adjust the activities on the fly. By instituting a registration process for the later workshops, we were also able to actively encourage registration if numbers remained low as the date approached. We framed the registration around our need for numbers to finalize catering in order to avoid creating a sense of undue pressure to participate.
- During workshop discussions, participants consistently indicated that participation by physicians in IPC and IPE learning activities was extremely important. Yet recruitment of physicians to attend the workshops remained a challenge throughout the project.
- Healthcare professionals generally have no uncommitted time. Scheduling additional time to come together as a team takes a real effort and commitment. The PLP introduction meeting, essential to beginning to build understanding and engagement was a challenge to fit within existing team schedules and meeting practices. Also, all team members would not necessarily be present at the same time / meeting.
- Securing the participation of physicians for team-focused learning activities remains a particular challenge. In some situations the existing practices and team culture made it unlikely from the outset that any physician would attend. Yet during reflective discussion the workshop participants frequently concluded that physician participation was essential for real advancement in the team’s interprofessional collaboration.
