Table 5 Theme occurrence with disciplinary quotes in response to the question “How might the HCC be improved for interprofessional learning next year?” (N = 374)

Theme 7: Equality in assessment weighting

(n = 27/56)

48%

I found it was unfair that each degree had a different percentage of their grade attributed to the task. I found the students who had the HCC worth 10–15% put in far more effort than those who only required a pass or fail. (R23)

It is really unfair that the HCC is worth 10% for some disciplines like nursing but carries no weightage at all for other disciplines like medicine. This causes some students to not put in any effort into doing the work. Either make it worth 10% across ALL disciplines or no weightage at all. (R33)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 13/56)

23%

The video was a bit too much to work on and we couldn’t have done it if all of us were inexperienced in making a video (R1)

I don’t feel the video was beneficial to our collaboration in a health care context. I feel discussing and writing a care plan is more beneficial. (R3)

Theme 12: Task guidance and assessment instructions

(n = 6/56)

11%

Improve Canvas so it’s easier to find and gain access to the group page (R14)

Canvas interface and instructions for accessing modules, groups, upload areas …. (R18)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 23/57)

40%

Have alternative options for the video. (R6)

The time spent filming and editing the video, for instance, could have been used to consider a second contrasting case. (R30)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 10/57)

18%

Schedule more time for medical students to be able to do it (R29)

Making sure all students were at the HCC for the same amount of time. Medical students had to leave halfway, it would have been better to just allocate that amount of time for all students rather than others having to stay back. (R52)

Theme 8: Improve the team mix and case relevance

(n = 7/57)

12%

It would have been helpful to have the necessary personnel based on the case. For example, my group would have benefited from a dental student and occupational therapist (R14)

Making sure that the case is relevant to all parties involved - assign disciplines based on case (R2)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 9/36)

25%

Not having to make a video. It was pointless and did not help us learn. (R30)

The complexity of the case with no additional information was not aligned with criteria of the video assessment. I did not feel like I answered the case problems within the framework of the video. (R8)

Theme 8: Improve the team mix and case relevance

(n = 5/36)

14%

I feel like pharmacist is not needed in my case, Dao Chan. (R2)

Better allocation of health care professionals to cases e.g. would’ve been helpful to have a dentist in my case. In doing this, people won’t feel redundant in their case and ensures that everyone has an important role (R22)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 5/36)

14%

One student in my group can only attend 4 h (9 am - 1 pm) because he has lab on that day. It would be good if everyone in the team were free on that day. (R17)

Some team members had class in the middle of the day that were compulsory thus not all team members could attend for the whole day - addressing timetable issues might mean everyone is working together not just half the team (R24)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 8/22)

36%

No video. Just have the different faculties collaborate on a joint case. The video is just awkward and doesn’t help the collaborative effort (R2)

Take out the 30 min video. The abstract is more than enough to assess inter-professional work. Getting graded on how creative/how well you can video edit is not very fair. (R20)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 4/22)

18%

Make sure med students are available for the entire day. Having to leave at 12 made it difficult particularly for groups who registered later (R1)

Ensuring med students have their schedules cleared. Only available until 12 was not appropriate particularly for those groups that registered later. (R22)

Theme 11: Logistical improvements and place in each curriculum

(n = 3/22)

14%

Could be given to younger year (DMD2) as I feel like they would have learnt more and gotten more out of it. (R5)

Have degrees not already working in hospitals with teams participate. Those whom already work in a hospital setting contacting different clinicians should be exempt as this provides no gain from what we learn in the first few weeks in a hospital setting. (R14)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 5/9)

56%

Medical student participation for the entire day (R7)

Not everyone has this assignment graded (medicine) and they said they (medicine) had something to do and leave early but you see them eating next door relaxing and not working with us. (R8)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 2/9)

22%

Instead of a video, we should make something else as it was hard to make a video as a group. (R3)

Not a video - time restraints and too hard to organize a time outside of course work. (R9)

Theme 7: Equality in assessment weighting

(n = 2/9)

22%

Everyone getting marked equally - some students only had to participate to pass, and therefore did not participate in all areas of the HCC assignment. (R5)

I do not understand how is it possible that some students are marked and some are not. - the mark from this challenge is going towards my final mark within the unit. This is unfair for obvious reasons, just to mention two: motivation, distribution of the workload. (R6)

Theme 11: Logistical improvements and place in each curriculum

(n = 6/29)

21%

Honestly, taking part on the HCC when I had completed almost 4 clinical placements was not a helpful experience. I had treated cases similar to the one presented at the HCC during placements, and done that within a MDT. (R10)

I think the HCC was not relevant to those in their final years of their degree. (R18)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 6/29)

21%

The video was a waste of time. The value of HCC is from talking to other professionals about the case, not making a short clip (R19)

The video aspect was very time consuming and in my opinion unnecessary. I would have preferred that we create a longer abstract and peer review each others? (R20)

Theme 7: Equality in assessment weighting

(n = 3/29)

10%

Only some team members had weighted marking for the assessment. Others did not so that affected amount of effort put towards the project. (R5)

Don’t make the mark count for some degrees but not others. It should be unweighted for everyone. (R6)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 7/31)

23%

The video making - it really disadvantages those groups where everyone has no experience in this. (R26)

Get rid of the video aspect, a powerpoint or abstract is enough. (R30)

Theme 12: Task guidance and assessment instructions

(n = 6/31)

19%

Easier video submission process. (R5)

Make the modules more accessible and less complex - it was extremely hard to navigate everything. (R6)

Theme 8: Improve the team mix and case relevance

(n = 5/31)

16%

Make sure that the case study contains relevant details for each profession. (R15)

There were some team members that couldn’t really be involved as their disciplines weren’t relevant to the case, e.g. radiographer for me case. It would be good to only assign people to cases that they can take part in using their disciplinary knowledge. (R7)

Theme 7: Equality in assessment weighting

(n = 23/52)

44%

Equal or no weighting for all disciplines. (R6)

Ensure that the HCC is a weighted % for each team member - as individuals who only need to attend and ‘pass’ may not be willing to put in as much effort as individuals who have HCC as a 20% weight in one of their subjects. (R8)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 17/52)

33%

Better organisation: med students had to leave for class halfway through (R1)

To ensure that all students have the day off - the med students left early and the rest of us had to stay and complete the work (R23)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 9/52)

17%

I don’t think that creating a video that focuses on creative ways to demonstrate inter-professional learning was really the most constructive way of facilitating learning (R2)

I don’t think making a video is necessary, I think only a written component is necessary for students to gain same benefits from HCC. (R45)

Theme 8: Improve the team mix and case relevance

(n = 24/46)

52%

Our group didn’t have a medical student. We were limited due to this and the case study was irrelevant for my profession. I did not play a major part in the discussion due to this. (R8)

Ensuring that individuals are assigned to patient case studies that are more relevant to their profession (R4)

Theme 10: Equal contribution and time commitment

(n = 12/46)

26%

It was a shame that the medicine student had to leave at midday for classes as I felt he had a lot to contribute and was a great leader. (R39)

Pick a date where the medical students don’t need to leave early for class if possible. (R9)

Theme 7: Equality in assessment weighting

(n = 9/46)

20%

Ensuring that the HCC has a balanced assessment weighting across disciplines can improve the contribution of each team member. I was fortunate to have hard working team mates, but I heard that other teams encountered difficulties because some members didn’t contribute as the assessment wasn’t marked for them, which is unfair for others. (R43)

Make sure it is graded for all involved. It was graded for me, but what a pass/fail for everyone else in the group, so I feel like I had to take on more responsibility. (R41)

Theme 11: Logistical improvements and place in each curriculum

(n = 5/9)

56%

Better signage for finding learning spaces at RPA. There was a construction zone in front of the building that made it hard to find. (R5)

Have the HCC at Cumberland campus, as that’s where the majority of health science degrees are located. (R4)

Theme 12: Task guidance and assessment instructions

(n = 4/9)

44%

Information released earlier so we have a better understanding of what is expected early on and can better prepare for it. (R1)

More clear and concise instructions given for students, earlier in advance if possible (R8)

Theme 11: Logistical improvements and place in each curriculum

(n = 9/27)

33%

Less rigidity regarding timetable (R11)

Do the HCC in 1st year of the masters of nutrition and dietetics instead of the 2nd. I had already done a placement that involved working in a multi-disciplinary team, so I did not gain anything from the HCC. The HCC would have been useful for the placement had it been done the other way around. (R23)

Theme 9: Modify form of assessment

(n = 4/27)

15%

The video felt more like a chore than a learning activity. (R26)

Group debrief (larger group) on different case perspectives eg. discussion/healthy debate. (R10)

Theme 8: Improve the team mix and case relevance

(n = 4/27)

15%

From speaking to other students, some were allocated a case where their profession did not have a significant role whist that role would be more beneficial in another case. (R17)

Please consider incorporating a more substantial role for the radiographer. (R22)