Responding to the Call of the Community; an Opportunity for Interprofessional Student Engagement?

Abstract

Practice Education is a core component in the training of healthcare professionals, with fieldwork providing important opportunities to consolidate curriculum-based teaching through the integration of theory with practice. The School of Allied Health (SAH) in the University of Limerick (UL), has a long history of engagement in innovative community-based student placements; developed in order to expand placement capacity and offer a unique learning opportunity to students. Research conducted by SAH demonstrates that the outcomes of these collaborative fieldwork placements had been predominantly positive but host organizations also requested a more sustainable model of university engagement with services and communities. Responding to this call, the Occupational Therapy Practice Education Team (OT PET) engaged in an extensive process of face- to-face collaboration to map community need and identify opportunities for sustainable engagement through ongoing student fieldwork placements. On completion, it was identified that a funded community-based student- led clinic was an optimal means of meeting the needs of all stakeholders and maintaining a continual Higher Education Institution’s (HEI) presence in the local regeneration areas of Limerick City.