"Oh why didn't I take more notice?" Professionals' views and perceptions of pre-qualifying preparation for interprofessional working in practice.

It is widely assumed that interprofessional learning (IPL) impacts positively on interprofessional working (IPW) in health and social care. However, there is no clear evidence that pre-qualifying IPL improves service delivery. The direct effect of pre-qualifying IPL on IPW and service delivery is difficult to demonstrate; researchers must rely on professionals' self-report in this regard.

Researching student absence: methodological challenges and ethical issues.

This article describes the challenges encountered in a research project aiming to explore non-attendance from the perspective of absent students. These students are nursing students in a Faculty of Health and Social Care, but the issues raised here are of wider interest. Although attendance at the sessions monitored for this project is stated to be compulsory, there is typically a non-attendance rate of around 20%.

Education for new role development: the Community Matron in England.

Aim: This paper is a report of an evaluation of the English national pilot education programme preparing Community Matrons to fulfil their role.

Background: Investment in community services has been important in introducing new ways of working in the United Kingdom National Health Service, particularly for patients with complex long-term conditions. Development of the Community Matron role in England is an exemplar in the creation of modern nursing careers that are fit for purpose.

Online interprofessional learning: the student experience.

Health and social care students in a faculty in the United Kingdom learn together in an interprofessional module through online discussion boards. The module assessment encourages engagement with technology and with group members through peer review. An evaluation of student experience of the module gathered data from 48 students participating in 10 online groups.

Career choices in health care: is nursing a special case? A content analysis of survey data.

Background: As demand for nurses and other health professionals continues to outstrip supply it is important to understand what motivates individuals to join a non-medical health profession.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate students' reasons for choosing a particular nursing specialism, midwifery or other non-medical health profession, and to compare motivation factors across professions, gender, age, level of award, prior qualifications, prior experience and over time.

Design: A prospective follow-up study collected survey responses at the beginning and end of pre-qualifying professional programmes.