Interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning: an exploration of similarities and differences

This chapter begins by considering the words used to discuss collaborative education. Although it can be argued that “practice” separates “a profession” from “a discipline”, the merit in separating theory from practice is highly questionable. The literature suggests that the challenges to interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning are very similar, for example, the “silo” mentality causes problems within both. In addition, it is evident that the reasons behind advocacy of interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning are also similar. The chapter demonstrates that successful interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning requires fundamental changes to both the curriculum and the organisation delivering it. The authors conclude that while subtle differences might exist between interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning their promotion is based on a similar rationale, which is to ensure that students are prepared for the real world in which collaboration, boundary crossing, adopting multiple perspectives and working with others to achieve optimal outcomes, is paramount.