Exchange of ideas on inter-professional learning in dentistry

Jane Collingwood and Clare McIlwaine went to New York University College of Dentistry thanks to a Santander Internationalisation Scholarship, a grant awarded to help build collaborative relationships for research, skill sharing and career development among Santander universities.

Their colleague, Louise Belfield, travelled separately and joined Jane and Clare at NYU to complete the multi-professional team and gain experience of integrating clinical and basic science education among multiple undergraduate programmes.

Both the University of Plymouth and New York University have renowned reputations for inter-professional learning. Plymouth leads the way in a completely new and innovative programme which trains future dentists and dental therapists and hygienists side-by-side from the very start of their programmes. Jane and Clare shared experiences and learned best practice with their colleagues in New York. They are also hopeful that this visit will lead to joint projects in the future.

Jane commented, “There is a growing acknowledgement that oral health is part of overall health and so we need to take a whole body approach to healthcare delivery. At NYU they have been developing inter-professional education between students of dentistry, nursing and other professionals for a number of years. We could see how this could create healthcare professionals who were not only confident in their own roles, but could also liaise with each other to create a patient-centred care environment. There was a lot we could bring back to Plymouth – especially given the breadth of health professions courses at this university – but it was also heartening to see where our trailblazing approach to the integration of dental and dental therapy and hygiene students could give inspiration to New York University in the future.”