A course within a course: An evaluation of shared learning on a systemic foundation course for clinical psychology trainees and multidisciplinary staff

This research used a mixed-methods design to investigate the challenges and opportunities presented by running a part-time course within a full-time course: the full-time students being joined by part-time Continued Professional Development (CPD) students for their Foundation course systemic training days. A modified version of The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was completed by students at three time points over the length of the course, and separate focus groups for full-time and part-time students held at the end of the teaching. Both groups valued the opportunities of shared learning, however, the part-time students became dissatisfied with this in the middle of the course. This dissatisfaction was due to experiences associated with being part-time students within a full-time course, as well as being a multi-disciplinary group within a uni-disciplinary group. The impact of this research in improving the course are presented, as well as general recommendations for running a course within a course.