New centre heralds different practitioner approach to maximise patient outcomes

As Medicare turns 40, Australia’s complex healthcare system needs a workforce that’s equipped for the 21st century. A new centre at the University of Melbourne is encouraging different health practitioners to work more closely together, leading to better outcomes for patients, more efficiencies for hospitals, and more satisfaction for health practitioners.

The Collaborative Practice Centre is re-engineering how students from the University of Melbourne’s 14 different health professions are trained so they think about health care as a team-based sport.

University of Melbourne’s Collaborative Practice Centre director Professor Tina Brock.Credit: University of Melbourne

“We are going to teach people from day one to work as an interprofessional team for the benefit of the patient,” says Elizabeth Molloy, deputy dean – education, at the University of Melbourne’s faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences.

“So, if you’re training to become a doctor you will be training from year one with nursing students, social work students, physiotherapy students, biomedical science students to produce better health care outcomes.”

Dovetailing disciplines

Molloy says the new centre is designed to address the health system’s underlying fragmentation.

Professor Elizabeth Molloy, deputy dean – education, at the University of Melbourne’s faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences.Credit: University of Melbourne

“Our health system is broken,” she says. “It’s under an enormous amount of stress and we have parts of the health sector that are not speaking to each other and working together for the patient. That can include primary care right through to hospitals. We know this from research, yet we persist with training our professions in silos.”

Molloy says a desire to work better together is also coming from the different health professions.

“Increasingly, a lot of accrediting bodies are receptive to this idea: they want us to teach students how to work together as teams.”

Traditionally, most specialisations within health have stuck to themselves. The centre aims to break down those barriers.

“Healthcare is very hierarchical,” says Molloy. “People make assumptions about others’ capabilities. That can create friction and burnout. We know different professions are leaving in droves because of that lack of respect and that lack of cohesion.”

Collaborative Practice Centre director Professor Tina Brock says the centre is responding to the increased burden of chronic disease on the healthcare system.

“A person living with diabetes is going to have to see multiple specialists, from optometrists to podiatrists, for their care. It can be confusing and difficult for patients to navigate this. We want to make that easier by ensuring that our brilliant healthcare professionals have the skills to work seamlessly together and to anticipate patient needs beyond their specialisation.”

Molloy adds: “We have complementary competencies and our accreditors recognise this. People want to work to the top of their tickets. We’re hoping by training our different professions together that people from day one year one will start to have a healthy respect and even admiration for the knowledge different professions hold.“

As part of the centre’s work, first year students will take part in simulations in the emergency context and mental health context. More than 1400 students across the 14 professions come together to learn about cultural safety, Indigenous knowledge and inclusive, equitable healthcare.

Raising the bar for practitioners

First-year doctor of medicine student Jonathan Glenning.Credit: University of Melbourne

First-year doctor of medicine student Jonathan Glenning has participated in these interprofessional programs and reflects on the importance of learning from students from other disciplines.

“It’s extremely important for us as medical students to learn alongside students from other fields and professions,” he says. “Focusing on this now while we’re still in training gives us a massive head start. When we join the workforce and begin caring for patients, we’ll be able to provide far greater, multidisciplinary care right from the beginning.”

According to Molloy, a key part is showing students what good teamwork “looks, sounds and feels like”. “It’s about different people in a team understanding their roles and finding new ways of working,” she says. “It’s about respect and curiosity to examine practice, and having the courage to think about new ways of working.”

Aside from the advantages teamwork delivers, a more collaborative approach will also have practical benefits. For instance, it may help ensure referrals are made to the right people.

The thinking behind the centre has been backed by research into what good teamwork looks like in health. The university is keen to share lessons learned with the global academic and health services community.

“We’re working with government, with regulators, our clinical partners in hospitals and in primary care, upskilling health professionals around how to think and practice differently,” says Molloy.

Over time, she expects to be able to improve the patient experience and clinician satisfaction and attrition rates. “If we continue to work in this siloed, fragmented way, there will continue to be massive wastage in our healthcare system. Our centre aims to address that.”

- Alexandra Cain