Enhancing the student experience through effective collaboration: a case study

In the United Kingdom (UK), closer integration of public services is challenging professionals to work more collaboratively within and across their organizational and professional boundaries (Great Britain DOH 2000; Great Britain DFES 2003). Reflecting a move to more significantly include librarians in educational collaboration (Schulte and Sherwill-Navarro 2009), this paper provides insight into the development of an innovative health curriculum in which academic staff, together with library staff, have engaged in successful collaborative working on a range of health and social care professional programs. This successful partnership has, to date, enabled the theme of lifelong learning to be embedded into a complex, year one, interprofessional module entitled “Foundations of Learning and Collaborative Working” (Northumbria University 2007). Using the Symbolic Interactionist Framework for Collaboration (SIFC) (Machin 2009), a case study of the collaborative working process undertaken is presented and factors influencing the success of the venture are highlighted. Sharing our experience may help others seeking to collaborate in their own work setting.