Dr. Aoife Fleming appointed Vice Head for Interprofessional Learning at College of Medicine and Health

29 Mar 2023

Dr. Aoife Fleming will promote the development of Interprofessional Learning (IPL) opportunities for students as well as supporting collaborative partnerships between College of Medicine and Health and the health services and promoting public and patient engagement in IPL education. She will lead an IPL action plan and work with a community of IPL advocates across Schools and Departments in CoMH to promote IPL education and research.

A Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Fleming assumed this role in January 2023.  A native of Courtmacsherry, West Cork, Dr. Fleming graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from Trinity College Dublin in 2004 and was awarded a Trinity College Dublin Gold Medal. She completed a Masters in Hospital Pharmacy (Trinity College Dublin) in 2007 while working as a Pharmacist at Beaumont Hospital. She has extensive experience working the hospital and community pharmacy settings.

Fleming said: “I am excited to take on this new role because I have seen first hand how interprofessional learning can enhance a student’s skills. The key focus going forward is embedding a person-centred, health system engaged, IPL programme across the six Schools of the College of Medicine and Health. This will provide students with an appreciation of other professions and disciplines and an opportunity to develop team-working, communication and collaboration skills to prepare them for future, inclusive, collaborative practice to optimise patient outcomes.”

Head of College Professor Helen Whelton congratulated Dr. Fleming on her appointment: “We are delighted to have Dr. Fleming as Vice Head for Interprofessional Learning at College of Medicine and Health. We are the most comprehensive College of Medicine and Health in Ireland covering a broad spectrum of health care disciplines and research. Health care is a team activity with multidisciplinary teams delivering the best care. It is essential to build on the professional training delivered to our students and further enhance it with interprofessional learning and teaching to give our future practitioner an understanding of their and other roles in the healthcare team. Dr. Fleming will build on our current achievements in IPL and will coordinate IPL activity across all our disciplines. She will also ensure that we adopt and lead international best practice in this area. Dr. Fleming has a strong research background in the areas of antimicrobial stewardship, point-of-care diagnostics for infection management, vaccination uptake and medication safety strategies”.

Aoife has been the Interprofessional Learning Coordinator at the School of Pharmacy since 2021 and has implemented several IPL experiences for students. She chaired and hosted the inaugural All Ireland Interprofessional Healthcare Challenge for Students (AIPEC) March 2022. Aoife has been successful in securing funding to develop IPL training opportunities for colleagues facilitating IPL and support for research in this area. Dr. Fleming was appointed to the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Council as a member in February 2023.