Interprofessional education in academic family medicine teaching units: a functional program and culture.

Problem Addressed: The new family health teams (FHTs) in Ontario were designed to enable interprofessional collaborative practice in primary care; however, many health professionals have not been trained in an interprofessional environment.

Objective Of Program: To provide health professional learners with an interprofessional practice experience in primary care that models teamwork and collaborative practice skills.

Program Description: The 2 academic teaching units of the FHT at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont, employ 6 types of health professionals and provide learning environments for family medicine residents and students in a variety of health care professions.

Using a novel small-group approach to enhance feedback skills for community-based teachers.

Background: As medical education expands into distant settings, challenges in providing faculty development to busy clinical teachers increase-especially for those who have difficulty accessing sessions offered at academic centers.

Description: Sixty-five clinical teachers participated in six small-group workshops, using a printed module on the topic of delivering feedback. The modules included teaching-learning "cases," tools, and a summary of medical literature.