Call for consumers, health profession educators, and practitioners to contribute to student education

The Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum is looking for consumers, health profession educators and practitioners to contribute to focus group discussions about the way in which health professional students are prepared to become collaborative health care practitioners. 

Join the 90-minute online focus group discussions across October and November to share your experiences and to let the research team know what has been working well and what needs to be improved. 

Submit your expression of interest by completing the Expression of Interest Form by 30 September 2022. 

Who is eligible to participate? 

Participant Group	Criteria to participate in the research project
Consumer	Aged over 18 years and  Have received (or are receiving) healthcare for an illness or disability or  Provide care for adults or children who require healthcare for an illness or disability.
Health profession educators	Aged over 18 years and  Have experience with the design, development, delivery and/or assessment of interprofessional education (IPE) for health professional students in the classroom and or workplace.
Health practitioners	Aged over 18 years and  Have experience with the delivery of healthcare as part of a collaborative health care team.

Who is conducting this research 

This research is being undertaken by the project team listed below on behalf of the Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum. The Forum is a coalition of the 15 accreditation authorities providing accreditation functions for the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. The Forum works collaboratively with member organisations and other stakeholders to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of accreditation and assessment functions of the regulated health professions for the benefit of the community. 

Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Fiona Kent	Department of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Education Portfolio, Monash Health
Other Investigators
Ms Bronwyn Clark (Project Lead)	Australian Pharmacy Council
Clinical Professor Fiona Stoker	Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council
Ms Theanne Walters (AM)	Australian Medical Council
Mr David Copley	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Accreditation Committee
Associate Professor Sue Kirsa	Department of Pharmacy, Monash Health
Ms Glenys Wilkinson	Australian Pharmacy Council
Professor Brian Jolly	Medical Radiation Practice Committee
Dr Lynda Cardiff	Australian Pharmacy Council
Dr Julie Gustavs	Australian Medical Council
Dr Josephine Maundu	Australian Pharmacy Council

Purpose of the research 

The research aims to improve the development of skills that enable students from different health professions to collaborate effectively in providing high quality care to patients. We recognise that health professionals must work together to improve patient outcomes and we want to explore how we can better train health profession students to do this. 

Consent to participate in the research  

Participation in the research is voluntary. Your decision will not affect your relationship with your health service provider, the accreditation organisations or the HPAC Forum. The research team will ask you to complete and sign consent form prior to the focus group. Consumers will receive a gift certificate worth $50 for participation in the focus groups. 

Confidentiality 

The focus group sessions will be audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. The views you express during the focus group session will be included in the analysis but will not be attributed to you in any way. The project team will use your name, email, and phone number for the purpose of contacting you to confirm your attendance at the focus group session. This information will be deleted after the focus groups have been conducted. There will be no identifiable information about you in any reports, published articles or presentations.   

Ethics  

Ethical approval for this research project has been obtained from Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC). 

Approval date: 05/09/2022 

Expiry date: 05/09/2027 

Project Funding 

This project has been funded by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) and the Australian Medical Council (AMC). These organisations are members of the HPAC Forum. 

Additional Information 

To find out more about the project see HPAC's September Communiqué – Developing a collaborative practitioner through accreditation processes.

You can also write to the project manager, at HPACForumIPEproject@pharmacycouncil.org.au.  

Contact details   

If you have any concerns, please write to Ms. Bronwyn Clark, Project Lead on bronwyn.clark@pharmacycouncil.org.au or call 02 6188 4288. 

Thank you, 

Associate Professor Fiona Kent, Chief Investigator