SIDDARTH RAJ MC02 1505046 - MBBS1
IPE Reflective Account
MBBS Year 1 - 2015/2016
The interprofessional education (IPE) course focuses on promoting patient safety in a
healthcare setting, with a closer look at patient-centred communication within a team. The
IPE course culminated with the IPE presentation, which brought together students from an
array of disciplines including nursing, pharmacy, nutrition and medicine. It was really the
first chance for me, a medical student, to interact with someone from another course in a
classroom setting. This reflective account will discuss my experience with my IPE team and
examine the importance of an interprofessional education in my opinion.
For the purposes of this reflective account, I will use Kolb’s Experiential Learning
Cycle (McLeod, Saul). It begins with a concrete experience, which, in this case, was the
process of creating the IPE presentation. The next stage is reflective observation, which
focuses on deconstructing my personal experience and leads directly into the penultimate
stage: abstract conceptualisation, which involves close analysis, conclusions and learning
from the experience. The final stage in this circular process is active experimentation, which
involves applying what has been learned to future experiences.
Concrete Experience
The process of creating the IPE presentation is best described through Tuckman’s Stages
Model, which is a group development theory that describes how a team comes together and
reaches “peak effectiveness.” The model is comprised of five stages: Forming, Storming,
Norming, Performing and Adjourning (Abudi, Gina).
As part of the Forming stage, the team met for the first time. Our IPE team consisted of
nine members from different healthcare disciplines. Akin to the theory, this stage involved
coming together and learning more about the end-goal: the presentation. I recall being quite
unsure of what the task actually entailed and I voiced this concern; fortunately, most
members of the group reciprocated their concerns, which led to a discussion and
brainstorming session which put everyone at ease. This allowed us to discuss and, after some
time, finalise our presentation guiding question: “How can effective teamwork improve
patient discharge?”
IPE REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT !1
IPE Reflective Account
MBBS Year 1 - 2015/2016
The interprofessional education (IPE) course focuses on promoting patient safety in a
healthcare setting, with a closer look at patient-centred communication within a team. The
IPE course culminated with the IPE presentation, which brought together students from an
array of disciplines including nursing, pharmacy, nutrition and medicine. It was really the
first chance for me, a medical student, to interact with someone from another course in a
classroom setting. This reflective account will discuss my experience with my IPE team and
examine the importance of an interprofessional education in my opinion.
For the purposes of this reflective account, I will use Kolb’s Experiential Learning
Cycle (McLeod, Saul). It begins with a concrete experience, which, in this case, was the
process of creating the IPE presentation. The next stage is reflective observation, which
focuses on deconstructing my personal experience and leads directly into the penultimate
stage: abstract conceptualisation, which involves close analysis, conclusions and learning
from the experience. The final stage in this circular process is active experimentation, which
involves applying what has been learned to future experiences.
Concrete Experience
The process of creating the IPE presentation is best described through Tuckman’s Stages
Model, which is a group development theory that describes how a team comes together and
reaches “peak effectiveness.” The model is comprised of five stages: Forming, Storming,
Norming, Performing and Adjourning (Abudi, Gina).
As part of the Forming stage, the team met for the first time. Our IPE team consisted of
nine members from different healthcare disciplines. Akin to the theory, this stage involved
coming together and learning more about the end-goal: the presentation. I recall being quite
unsure of what the task actually entailed and I voiced this concern; fortunately, most
members of the group reciprocated their concerns, which led to a discussion and
brainstorming session which put everyone at ease. This allowed us to discuss and, after some
time, finalise our presentation guiding question: “How can effective teamwork improve
patient discharge?”
IPE REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT !1
