Preparing for Team Work Your IPL group, which consists of students from medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy and physiotherapy, is asked to consult with Rosie, a 77-year-old patient attending the...

Preparing for Team Work

Your IPL group, which consists of students from medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy and physiotherapy, is asked to consult with Rosie, a 77-year-old patient attending the community clinic to which you are attached. Rosie's GP letter advises that she has been referred to the clinic to help with pain and poor mobility caused by osteoarthritis in both knees. Her body mass index is 31, and she is taking medication for type 2 diabetes, hypertension and pain. This is the first time you have worked together in this group. Before you interact with Rosie, how do you prepare to work as a team? What do you hope to learn from this encounter, and what is the value of collaborating with students from other health professions? If you were the educator facilitating the interprofessional management plan, how might you help students to understand different professional groups’ perspectives on diagnosis and care?