2684

INTERPROFESSIONAL UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Vimpani G, Davies M, Jones P, Vimpani A, Bhatia S

Faculties of Medicine and Health Science, and Education, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Objective: Medical students and early childhood education students each require knowledge of normal early human development and finely honed

Observational skills to function effectively in their subsequent careers, Whilst teachers and doctors often deal with the same children, they have limited knowledge of the theoretical frameworks that underpin their respective understanding of child development, which often contributes to communication difficulties between the professional groups. This course funded through a teaching development grant aimed to facilitate the development of observational skills of early human development.

Methods: A total of 24 volunteer students were sought from amongst first year medical students and second year early childhood education students. Where possible, mixed pairs of students were allocated to make biweekly observations on a child aged between 9 months and 4 years attending a long day care center or preschool for a period of 14 weeks. Each pair also undertook a home visit during the course of the semester to interview the parents about biological, experiential and environmental influences on their child's development. Biweekly debriefing sessions were held with academic supervisors to monitor methods of observation, to discuss findings and where appropriate suggest alternative approaches. An end of semester seminar at which each pair of students will discuss their observations and learning is scheduled.

Results: The course was oversubscribed amongst the medical student group. Initial feedback through biweekly meetings with academic supervisors has been extremely positive. The full set of results will not be available until the end of the semester in June 2001.The extent to which students felt that this course would improve future communication and collaboration between the respective professions will be discussed.

Conclusions: The course proved to be a highly effective way of developing observational skills amongst early childhood education and medical students. Both sets of students valued the different perspectives on child development that each brought to the exercise, and the way in which their respective understandings of child development would assist in their future careers.