Interprofessional work in cancer care: towards team work through interprofessional education

Abstract

This paper explores some of the characteristics associated with learning about the care and management of people with cancer in an interprofessional setting. Most cancer patients have contact with a variety of health care professionals on their cancer journey. This journey is explored for a woman with breast cancer who experiences, reports and receives advice for the chronic fatigue that many such patients have during and after treatments. Recent literature, especially that informed by patients’ viewpoints, indicates that some patients perceive their care as fragmented and can be given conflicting advice from different professionals within the team. This paper demonstrates that working in an interprofessional way is full of complexities for the practitioners involved and argues for interprofessional education as a way towards more effective team work when two or more health care professionals are members of that team.

The paper discusses theoretical aspects of interprofessional education, with a focus on knowledge development through shared learning and how this may be achieved for students studying cancer care. Barriers to the effective development of interprofessional knowledge are elaborated upon.