Inter‐professional learning in primary care: lessons from an action‐learning programme

The potential of inter‐professional education and training in primary care is increasingly being recognised, especially in light of UK policy developments relating to clinical governance and primary care groups and trusts. Action to Support Practices Implementing Research Evidence (ASPIRE) was set up in North‐west England in 1997 to assist primary care teams in finding, appraising and applying evidence. Outlines some of the lessons learned and questions raised about the feasibility of such inter‐professional initiatives. It was necessary to gear the programme to meet the various expectations and needs of different professionals. Target setting by teams and the provision of protected time within a structured framework appeared to yield direct and indirect benefits to participants. However, there is a need for much more rigorous evaluation of multidisciplinary programmes with regard to their ability to overcome traditional hierarchies and barriers, their effectiveness in improving practice and their longer‐term costs and benefits.