Ain Satar, Jonathan Fisher, Mine Orlu, Catherine Tuleu, Paul Winyard, Caroline Fertleman
* Corresponding author: Ain Satar, Institute of Child Health, United Kingdom
n.satar@ucl.ac.uk 

Background 
Interprofessional education (IPE) encourages collaboration between healthcare students, aiming to nurture effective members of the healthcare system. Although approaches to IPE have expanded, assessing knowledge and skills required for successful collaboration require continued development. A multidisciplinary faculty designed and conducted an interactive flipped classroom paediatric oncology session for University College London’s (UCL) pharmacy and medical students. 

Summary of Work 
Both paediatricians and pharmacists ran the session using various teaching modalities: short didactic presentations, interactive game and case discussions in small interprofessional groups. Role modelling of interaction through a multidisciplinary faculty helps students appreciate its importance in healthcare setting. Participants completed anonymised matched pre and post-questionnaires. The pre-session questionnaire explored pre-conceived ideas of each profession and post-session questionnaire explored session’s impact on learners’ impression of each profession, communication and appreciation of professional collaboration. Additional feedback collected from medical students five months after the session. 

Results 
Forty (93%) matched responses from 43 participants received; 21 (53%) pharmacy and 19 (47%) medical students. Of the 21 (53% of total) previously involved in IPE sessions, 18 (86%) were pharmacy students. The impression of each profession is positive, however some acknowledged potential for conflict due to differing perspectives. Thirty-six (90%) students said the session enhanced their communication skills. They reported increased confidence, empowerment to collaborate and encouragement to seek advice from other professionals. Students appreciated broader understanding of each professional’s role and perspectives, experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team and opportunity to share skills and knowledge. They valued the importance of a holistic approach to patient care and the need for interprofessional collaboration; ‘We have a common goal in prioritising patient care’, ‘Interprofessional collaboration is essential to create good relationship within healthcare team’. However, medical students' feedback five months later questioned its worth, as it did not form part of their assessment (55% rated 2 or 3 out of 5). 

Discussion 
The high response rate and positive comments reflect the level of student participation and enthusiasm during the session. IPE exposes healthcare students to real working environment and allows appreciation of joint clinical decision-making and collaboration necessary to achieve holistic care. Although it was perceived that this was achieved, measuring long-term impact of cross-disciplinary sessions on wider team interaction and ultimately, patient care is challenging. Some students could not appreciate the session’s relevance, as it did not form part of their assessment. This highlights the importance of assessments in helping students internalise lessons. Although there has been competencies framework suggested for IPE, assessment tools are varied and best practices not yet identified. Both summative and formative assessments designed to evaluate behavioural changes, deliveries of care, patient satisfaction and outcome have been recommended. Further development in comprehensive assessment tools incorporating competencies identified for multidisciplinary education is critical to fully benefit from this educational model. Nevertheless, this study has informed future study designs and module assessment. 

Take home messages 
IPE sessions enrich health professional learning. Robust, standardised and longitudinal assessment methods using tools to measure competencies are needed.