Transdisciplinary education: Tensions and contradictions?

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Abstract
While moves towards transdisciplinary education programmes for health and social care professionals are undoubtedly in evidence, the explicit objectives are often unclear and, in numerous studies, unstated. There are numerous interpretations of what a successful outcome in respect of closer collaboration between health and social care professionals actually means, and there also appears to be a prevailing idea that it is common sense that if students learn together they will be better prepared to work together. Whether it is helpful to put so much emphasis upon common studies is another matter. The danger lies in detracting from the distinctive contribution that each profession makes to service delivery. It is a strongly held belief in interprofessional education that comparative studies add value, by which it is meant that opportunities to learn from, about, and with each other, pave the way for collaboration in practice. Evidence is needed of the benefits of interactive learning so as to withstand arguments from employers that common studies are sufficient to facilitate flexible deployment of the workforce and from educational institutions who wish to use them to economise on scarce resources. What are required are longitudinal studies which focus on the possible relationships between education input and enhancement of quality care provision and an over-arching strategic vision to sustain developments in the long term.