Mr Daniel Stevens1,2,3, Mrs Nicole Killey1,2, Miss Sheree Riley1,2,4, Ms Cecily McCowage1,2,5, Mrs Georgina Boyle1,6
1The University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 2Mid North Coast Local Health District, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 3Baringa Private Hospital, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 4Sheree Riley Kids Nutrition, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 5Galambila Aboriginal Health Service, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 6I-MED Radiology, Coffs Harbour, Australia
Biography:
Daniel is an Associate Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Newcastle, Department of Rural Health in Coffs Harbour. With over a decade of clinical experience across the Mid North and Far North Coast of NSW, he has expertise in rehabilitation, geriatrics, and community health. Daniel continues to practice as a physiotherapist in both public and private hospitals, covering diverse clinical areas. In his current role, he supports physiotherapy students undertaking a yearlong rural immersion program in Coffs Harbour and serves as a local champion for interprofessional education, fostering collaborative learning to develop work-ready healthcare professionals.
Abstract:
Interprofessional education (IPE) is best practice for shaping collaborative, workforce-ready allied health graduates. The University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health (UONDRH) in Coffs Harbour, delivers IPE to allied health students facing unique challenges, including limited peer networks and exposure to diverse rural healthcare settings. Program evaluation and student feedback highlighted that while students engaged in learning with, from, and about one another, the explicit principles of interprofessional practice and their translation to rural clinical settings were not fully realised.
Addressing these challenges, academics were empowered to collaborate with local students, health professionals, and IPE experts to redesign local IPE activities. The goal was to provide deeper exploration of interprofessional practice principles, enhance professional advocacy, and strengthen contextualisation to this rural setting.
As a result, IPE events in Coffs Harbour evolved from shorter sessions to full-day experiences, emphasising experiential learning via contextualised simulated scenarios and hackathons. This allowed greater opportunities for professional advocacy, and provided more time for reflective discussions, making explicit the principles of interprofessional practice. Staff reflected that these changes allowed students to fully immerse themselves in IPE sessions and integrate their learning into rural healthcare contexts.
This approach highlights the importance of tailoring IPE to the student cohort and local healthcare needs. Ongoing reflection and student feedback remain pivotal in refining this approach, which has the potential for broader application in other education settings. Future aims include evaluation of student experiences and exploring how this contributes to shaping collaborative workforce-ready allied health graduates.