Biomaterial Database

Allied health graduate program - supporting the transition from student to professional in an interdisciplinary program. 2007

Robyn A Smith, and Samantha Pilling

Allied Health Research and Evidence Based Practice, Northern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Robyn.Smith@nh.org.au

The transition from student to professional is challenging. Training programs provide discipline specific skills but do not adequately develop the interprofessional, team focused and work ready clinicians needed for the current workplace. In Australia, a formal graduate year is common in nursing; however, structured programs to support the student to professional transition are uncommon in allied health. This paper reports on the first year of an innovative program designed to address this gap. Fourteen new graduates at Northern Health in Melbourne, Australia from the disciplines of occupational therapy, physical education, physiotherapy, podiatry, social work and speech pathology participated in twelve, 2-hour sessions over a ten-month period during their first year of professional practice. These facilitated sessions aimed to foster reflective practice, peer support, to develop professional characteristics and provide an interdisciplinary forum for sharing experiences and learning. The paper outlines graduates and facilitators experience, together with the impacts for the health service.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010348	Patient Care Team	Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.	Health Care Team,Interdisciplinary Health Team,Medical Care Team,Multidisciplinary Care Team,Multidisciplinary Health Team,Healthcare Team,Care Team, Health,Care Team, Medical,Care Team, Multidisciplinary,Care Team, Patient,Care Teams, Health,Care Teams, Patient,Health Care Teams,Health Team, Interdisciplinary,Health Team, Multidisciplinary,Healthcare Teams,Interdisciplinary Health Teams,Medical Care Teams,Multidisciplinary Care Teams,Multidisciplinary Health Teams,Patient Care Teams,Team, Health Care,Team, Healthcare,Team, Interdisciplinary Health,Team, Medical Care,Team, Multidisciplinary Care,Team, Multidisciplinary Health,Team, Patient Care,Teams, Interdisciplinary Health
D011361	Professional Competence	The capability to perform the duties of one's profession generally, or to perform a particular professional task, with skill of an acceptable quality.	Competence, Professional,Generalization of Expertise,Technical Expertise,Expertise Generalization,Expertise, Technical
D004500	Education, Graduate	Studies beyond the bachelor's degree at an institution having graduate programs for the purpose of preparing for entrance into a specific field, and obtaining a higher degree.	Graduate Education,Educations, Graduate,Graduate Educations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000488	Allied Health Personnel	Health care workers specially trained and licensed to assist and support the work of health professionals. Often used synonymously with paramedical personnel, the term generally refers to all health care workers who perform tasks which must otherwise be performed by a physician or other health professional.	Child Life Specialist,Allied Health Professional,Healthcare Assistants,Healthcare Support Workers,Population Program Specialists,Allied Health Professionals,Assistant, Healthcare,Assistants, Healthcare,Child Life Specialists,Health Personnel, Allied,Health Professional, Allied,Health Professionals, Allied,Healthcare Assistant,Healthcare Support Worker,Personnel, Allied Health,Population Program Specialist,Professional, Allied Health,Professionals, Allied Health,Program Specialist, Population,Program Specialists, Population,Specialist, Child Life,Specialist, Population Program,Specialists, Child Life,Specialists, Population Program,Support Worker, Healthcare,Support Workers, Healthcare,Worker, Healthcare Support,Workers, Healthcare Support
D014739	Victoria	A state in southeastern Australia, the southernmost state. Its capital is Melbourne. It was discovered in 1770 by Captain Cook and first settled by immigrants from Tasmania. In 1851 it was separated from New South Wales as a separate colony. Self-government was introduced in 1851; it became a state in 1901. It was named for Queen Victoria in 1851. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1295 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, p574)
D015397	Program Evaluation	Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.	Evaluation, Program,Family Planning Program Evaluation,Program Appropriateness,Program Effectiveness,Program Sustainability,Appropriateness, Program,Effectiveness, Program,Evaluations, Program,Program Evaluations,Program Sustainabilities,Sustainabilities, Program,Sustainability, Program
D017145	Models, Educational	Theoretical models which propose methods of learning or teaching as a basis or adjunct to changes in attitude or behavior. These educational interventions are usually applied in the fields of health and patient education but are not restricted to patient care.	Educational Models,Instructional Models,Educational Model,Instructional Model,Model, Educational,Model, Instructional,Models, Instructional
D018794	Problem-Based Learning	Instructional use of examples or cases to teach using problem-solving skills and critical thinking.	Active Learning,Curriculum, Problem-Based,Experiential Learning,Problem-Based Curricula,Curricula, Problem-Based,Curriculum, Problem Based,Learning, Active,Learning, Experiential,Learning, Problem-Based,Problem Based Curricula,Problem Based Learning,Problem-Based Curriculum
D033183	Interdisciplinary Communication	Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.	Communication Research,Cross-Disciplinary Communication,Multidisciplinary Communication,Communication, Cross-Disciplinary,Communication, Interdisciplinary,Communication, Multidisciplinary,Communications, Cross-Disciplinary,Communications, Interdisciplinary,Communications, Multidisciplinary,Cross Disciplinary Communication,Cross-Disciplinary Communications,Interdisciplinary Communications,Multidisciplinary Communications,Research, Communication