Intraprofessional collaboration and learning between specialists and general practitioners during postgraduate training: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: During postgraduate training, general practitioners and other specialists must learn how to deliver shared care to patients; however, the development of formal intraprofessional education is often hampered by curricular constraints. Delivering shared care in everyday work provides trainees with opportunities for informal learning from, about and with one another. METHODS: Twelve semi-structured interviews were undertaken with trainee general practitioners and specialists (internal medicine or surgery). A thematic analysis of the input was undertaken and a qualitative description developed. RESULTS: Trainees from different disciplines frequently interact, often by telephone, but generally they learn in a reactive manner. All trainees are highly motivated by the desire to provide good patient care. Specialist trainees learn about the importance of understanding the background of the patient from GPs, while GP trainees gain medical knowledge from the interaction. Trainees from different disciplines are not very motivated to build relationships with each other and have fewer opportunities to do so. Supervisors can play an important role in providing intraprofessional learning opportunities for trainees. CONCLUSIONS: During postgraduate training, opportunities for intraprofessional learning occur, but there is much room for improvement. For example, supervisors could increase the involvement of trainees in collaborative tasks and create more awareness of informal learning opportunities. This could assist trainees to learn collaborative skills that will enhance patient care. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1619-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.