Interdisciplinary Health Professional Education: A Historical Review

A historical review was conducted to examine the advances made, nationally and internationally, in interdisciplinary health professional education since the mid-1960s. One hundred and nineteen articles were reviewed and divided by decade into the following subheadings: models, courses, communication/group process issues, and international perspectives. Twenty-seven articles, categorized as models, defined the conceptual field, described curriculum and program development, or provided a framework for evaluation.Thirty-two articles dealt with interdisciplinary courses, focusing on objectives, content areas, or innovative methods. Nine articles contributed contenton interdisciplinary communication and group process issues, from which guidelines were abstracted. Fifty-one articles contributed an international perspective, leading to the recognition that interdisciplinary health professional education, practice, and research is a global movement.