JCDA - Canadian Dental Association

The educational “silos” that characterize the training
of health care professionals have fostered turf
protection and isolation, rather than an integrated
system of health care capable of addressing complex health
problems. For example, underreporting of family violence
remains a problem, and its adverse effects remain a concern,
even though the “battered child syndrome” was reported in
the medical literature more than 40 years ago. At Dalhousie
University, interprofessional (IP) learning modules are used
to help future health care professionals learn to work
together. This paper describes the evolution of one module,
“From Family Violence to Health,” an updated version of
which was introduced in 2000. By February 2003, 1,182
students from 15 health professions had completed the
module.
Initially, the module was framed around one case study
of a potentially abused child requiring dental care. Students
in health care professions outside dentistry typically lack an
understanding of the important role of dental professionals
in the detection and management of family violence, and
this knowledge gap provided a valuable starting point for IP
learning. Subsequently, elder and spousal abuse cases were
added to the module.
The 2-hour module begins with a brief plenary session,
which is followed immediately by an IP small-group case
study. The students then reconvene and present issues to a
plenary panel of experts from law enforcement, social work
and legal aid.
658 November 2003, Vol. 69, No. 10
P R O F E S S I O N A L I S S U E S
Evolution of Interprofessional Learning:
Dalhousie University’s
“From Family Violence to Health” Module
• Grace M. Johnston, MHSA, PhD •
• Helen A. Ryding, BDS, MSc •
• Lindsay M. Campbell, BSc, MHSA •
A b r i d g e d V e r s i o n
The complete article can be viewed on the eJCDA Web site at: http://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-69/issue-10/658.html
© J Can Dent Assoc 2003; 69(10):658
This article has been peer reviewed.
Before participating in the module, students could
identify their role in the recognition of family violence and
knew their responsibility to report incidents. However, after
the module, there was greater understanding of the reporting
of family violence, as well as a more comprehensive and
supportive perspective regarding the roles of other health
care professionals. The students recognized the need to
include family members and other professionals in addressing
the problem. They also moved beyond consideration of
treatment to consideration of prevention and education.
Before the IP module, many students viewed family
violence as a responsibility specific to their own profession.
After the module, shared responsibility and the need to work
together in the community were apparent. The students
became aware of ways to support and collaborate with other
health care professionals.
As health care delivery becomes more focused on care
teams and system thinking, the provision of IP training is
expected to increase. The Dalhousie University IP modules
address health and social problems for which it is critical
that health care and other professionals work together.
The modules are designed to enable critical thinking and
reformulation of “uniprofessional” knowledge and assumptions
into a transdisciplinary context. They lead to insights
and in-depth understanding of the limitations of a uniprofessional
approach by allowing students to see their own
profession in a larger context.
The Dalhousie IP modules can be viewed at http://www.
dal.ca/~fhp/ipl/index.html. C
Journal of the Canadian Dental Association