Table 1 The best features of the Team-based learning (TBL) session and new knowledge, skills and valued learned from participation in the TBL session

Opportunity to observe and practice difference learning and teaching pedagogies used in other disciplines

The physiotherapy students appreciated the opportunity to experience the structure and design of TBL, a relatively new pedagogy within health care education.

Accessing different learning resources, instructors and styles from other disciplines to consolidate learning. The flipped lectures were particularly useful. (physiotherapy student)

structure of the session..Open and interactive style of learning

Discussion in groups + feedback in large group … Drawing and representing the key points visually – drawing mechanistic flow chart. (physiotherapy student)

The preparation material prior to class

Students appreciated the opportunity to learn content prior to attending class

The preparation (especially the FLIPPED lectures) were really useful and well thought out; they had very clear messages for each one and linked strongly back to clinical relevance. (medical student)

information from pre tute online lectures are useful, able to learn about clinical conditions from a different perspective (physiotherapy student)

The pre-class and in-class quizzes

Students found the IRAT helped in preparation, the TRAT immediately taken in class promoted collaboration in a new interprofessional team

The pre-work information was very useful to help understand what would be discussed in the TBL … the pre-session quizzes. (physiotherapy student)

The tRAT was useful to establish some level of collaborative discussion within the team. (medical student)

Knowledge of other curricula at an early stage, and appreciated the recognition of the multidisciplinary teams in patient management

Students found it beneficial to learn about what students from other disciplines were being taught

Interdisciplinary work is very important as many chronic illnesses and disabilities require multi disciplinary involvement and management. I found it very beneficial as a physiotherapist student to learn that the medicine students were thinking about patient centred care as opposed to a biomedical model of intervention. (physiotherapy student)

Good to have other members chat about their experiences and training programs …. Good exposure of their knowledge on the topic and their qualifications/trainings earlier on. (medical student)

Opportunities for collaboration

Student valued the chance to collaborate with students from other disciplines and consider different perspectives

Talking with peers and negotiating. Engaging with other HCP forces you to see things from their perspective which is always a useful exercise (medical student)

The ability to work with other health professionals

Knowing the perspectives of different health professions regarding the same condition (physiotherapy student)

Differences in curricula

Student found the session allowed them to learning about the curriculum and topics taught in other disciplines, and their scope of practice

Working with allied health personnel and understanding the scope of their practise …. It was great to learn from the physio students about their perspectives on back pain and how they have been learning this topic different to medicine

(medical student)

Discussion of the different approaches to management, learning a bit more about the details of what physiotherapists do to alleviate back pain (physiotherapy student)

Different perspectives

Students were able to gain multiple perspectives from different disciplines

Different perspectives and approaches to learning, understanding and applying information helped

us gain a wider knowledge of the topic. (medical student)

It was very enriching to be able to discuss ideas and discover alternate ways of thinking when it comes to patient management and treatment plans (physiotherapy student)

Multidisciplinary team of TBL facilitators

Students found it beneficial to be taught by a multidisciplinary team of facilitators who brought their clinical experience

The tutors were very helpful and interactive. Just fabulous

Listening and learning from the insights from the multi-disciplinary panel of tutors, some of whom were

doctors, physiotherapists and basic scientists. Applying what we learn in lectures to a common disease/condition in the community helps us to understand the principles of diagnosis and management, as well as emphasise their relevance. (physiotherapy student)

Tutors provided more well-rounded knowledge of the topic from different viewpoints … .. Having physiotherapists attend the TBL along with clinicians to appreciate the different approaches and perspectives of the healthcare providers in diagnosing and managing musculoskeletal problem (medical student)

Facilitator feedback

Students appreciated the feedback provided by an interdisciplinary team of facilitators

The ability to ask academics directly about questions - in lectures it is often intimidating … I liked that there were medical and physiotherapy tutors, they were all keen to offer helpful

and multidimensional explanations of patient care. (physiotherapy student)

The tutors for this TBL session were really helpful in giving us relevant information and advice about the different topics and being able to work with physiotherapy students enabled us to

experience how the real world situation could potentially look like. (medical student)

Patient case

Both medical and physiotherapy students found the patient case relevant and well aligned with their curriculum

The content was actually relevant to what we’re covering in lectures, practicals and clinical days (medical student)

Interesting case: the history and examination information were succinct and relevant. The flow and components in the case study (physiotherapy student)

Clinical reasoning

Students valued the opportunity to apply clinical reasoning to an authentic clinical case

Brilliant topic and clinical features discussed

as clinical application … relevance to clinical context … lots of opportunity to develop clinical reasoning. (medical student)

Applying what we learn in lectures to a common

disease/condition in the community helps us to understand the principles of diagnosis and management as well as emphasise their relevance. (physiotherapy student)

Importance of teamwork in patient care

The session emphasised to students the role and importance of multi-disciplinary work

The importance of teamwork in coming up with a coherent and effective clinical reasoning. Back pain is a multifaceted issue and treatment should be multimodal. (medical student)

It helped me to better understand the role of teamwork among a number of healthcare disciplines when treating patients (physiotherapy student)

Roles of other health professions

Participation in the session helped to develop students’ knowledge and understanding about the roles of other health profession

I now have a better understanding of the other roles and knowledge that other health care professional have. (physiotherapy student)

Knowledge about physiotherapy practices.. I learnt a little about physiotherapists which was nice. Just about the practicalities of their work such as that referrals from doctors are negligible in terms of their clientele, they practically all present of their own volition. (medical student)

Preparation for practice

Students developed their understanding of what is taught in different healthcare courses

What physios can offer and their qualifications …

That Medicine students are learning very similar things to us (physiotherapy student)

I gained perspective and respect for another health profession and what they were learning in their course, which is good practice for the future. (medical student)

Shared decision making

Students developed their appreciation of active listening and shared decision making

I have learnt the importance of listening to my peers actively and also incorporating their ideas to come to a better decision or conclusion. (physiotherapy student)

Keeping an open mind when encountering patient cases. There could be more than one condition bothering the patient (medical student)