Enhancing Inter-Professional Learning through the Territorial Army Experience

1. David Metcalfe Warwick Medical School • Introduction • Inter-professional learning • Medical degrees rarely expose students to inter-professional learning. • This deficiency can perpetuate unhelpful attitudes and traditional hierarchies within the NHS on graduation. • The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) • Specialised corps providing medical services to the British Army. • The Territorial Army (TA) • Important part of the RAMC • Most RAMC personnel also work in the NHS. • The TA provides an opportunity for NHS staff to work together inchallenging training environments • Also an opportunity for students to experience a further dimension ofinter-professional learning. • Personal reflection • How has TA experience influenced my attitudes to inter-professional working? • Exposure to healthcare professionals not always encountered on hospital placements • Physician assistants • Physiotherapists • Pharmacists • Environmental health officers • Social relationship with other healthcare professionals • Sporting and adventurous training opportunities • Mess (“social bar”) shared by healthcare staff • Integrated training • Responding as a team to: • major disasters • multiple casualties • nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare • Dismantling traditional hierarchies • Same uniform worn by all healthcare professionals • Army has its own hierarchy • Experienced nurses frequently outrank junior doctors • Merging of roles • Limited staff and resources abroad can require staff to pool their skills Territorial Army experience and inter-professional learning RAMC officers learn casualty evacuation at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists outside a military base in Cyprus. Supported by the Centre for Inter-professional e-Learning (CIPEL)