Interprofessional collaboration is a core competency for healthcare practitioners, including speech pathologists, as described by Speech Pathology Australia (Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists in Australia, 2020). As such, it is a fundamental component of speech pathology and other allied health and medical training programs. Additionally, speech pathology educators are always striving to find ways to teach practical competencies through engaging and authentic active learning tasks, but often encounter logistical barriers to implementation, such as misaligned timetables and assessment schedules across disciplines.

This presentation examines a collaborative learning initiative comprising workshops between Master of Speech Pathology and Master of Nursing Science students at the University of Melbourne, aimed at enhancing students’ knowledge and skills of interprofessional collaborative practice. The activity aimed to develop key interprofessional knowledge and skills, including the ability to communicate information effectively, engage in shared learning, create shared goals, and utilise digital tools in a clinical setting. The activity was delivered via an electronic medical record-based patient case simulation platform, which allowed students from both disciplines to work asynchronously on learning activities relating to the focus case study before coming together for a case-based discussion. Together, the interdisciplinary groups worked to interpret and share patient information, plan care, and manage a patient's transition from acute to outpatient settings.

By fostering communication, shared decision-making, and digital literacy, these kinds of practical learning experiences have the potential to support the development of speech pathologists who are equipped to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes across a range of practice settings. This initiative provided an opportunity for the students to experience interprofessional collaboration, simulating real-world healthcare environments where professionals from different fields work together to deliver patient care.

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