This paper considers interprofessional working within one diagnostic imaging department.
The literature is still divided about the long-term impact of interprofessional learning in pre-registration health and social care education, and its impact on the quality of care provided. When reading the literature about interprofessional working the main topics considered by other authors are team working, communication between professionals, stereotyping and tribalism.
The results presented are from an ethnographic study in one department with participant observation and semi-structured interviews.
The three main aspects discussed in this paper are; tribalism and culture within the diagnostic radiography profession, communication between different professional groups, and a lack of understanding of the roles of other professional groups.
It was evident from the results of this study that tribalism and culture, and a lack of understanding were significant barriers to interprofessional working.
It was felt by the authors that pre-registration and post-registration interprofessional education could be significant in changing the culture of the NHS in the future as more professionals learn from and about one another.