Abstract:

This virtual presentation will explore the experiences of students in medicine, nursing and paramedic courses who have shared a parallel delivery unit of learning entitled Perspectives on Ageing, run over a number of years at the University of Tasmania. The online component of the unit accommodates over 700 students across different campuses in the states of New South Wales and Tasmania. Students are at different year levels in their study and aim to join the ranks of their professions with skills in aged care and interprofessional collaboration that acknowledge a team based approach to health care for older people. While the unit is largely delivered online, components are also presented "live" to offer face to face opportunities for students to experience learning with other cohorts from Schools across the Faculty of Health Science.

The impact of this unit on students' concepts of the aged, aged care and of interprofessional interaction in its early forms was evaluated utilizing a range of tools. Results highlighted both successes to be consolidated and built upon, and factors that detracted from the experience of the Perspectives on Ageing unit. The presentation will describe the research approach and outline how findings both verify and clarify students' impressions of the value of their learning. It will also describe how the Schools of Medicine and Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Tasmania acknowledged and retained what was best about this unit while using research and review to evolve new pathways for content, teaching and interprofessional interaction.

Keywords:

On-line, learrning, parallel delivery, medicine, nursing, paramedic, aged care.