Multidisciplinary learning in family planning clinics.

This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability of joint learning between clinical and nonclinical members of family planning teams. A multidisciplinary workshop was facilitated by nonexpert facilitators comprising representatives from all disciplines who had received specific training. The workshop included sessions in which clinical and nonclinical staff learned separately and together. The program was evaluated using a questionnaire documenting participants' experience of learning in multidisciplinary teams, a pre- and post-workshop self-assessment of knowledge, a self-assessment of the predicted and actual effect of the workshop on clinical practice, and telephone interviews with the facilitators. Overall, results show that peer-facilitated multidisciplinary learning for clinical and nonclinical staff together is an acceptable form of staff training for family planning teams. Most participants felt comfortable in their learning groups and few reported feeling constrained by inter- or intradisciplinary hierarchies. In conclusion, the exclusion of nonclinical staff from interdisciplinary learning programs represents a missed opportunity for the exchange of ideas between family planning clinic teams.