Interprofessional education in health sciences: The University of Queensland Health Care Team Challenge

• Successful transition of students to competent work-ready health professionals requires an ability to work in health care teams. • Poor communication and teamwork practice has been implicated as a contributing source of error affecting patient safety. • Traditional university curriculum structures severely limit the time that students from different professions can spend together, learning about and from each other (interprofessional education [IPE]). • IPE initiatives need to focus on whole-of-system impacts and organisational sustainability. • The Health Care Team Challenge (HCTC) is a high-profile leadership strategy that engages students, academic staff, practising professionals, policymakers and industry in a whole-of-system approach to IPE and interprofessional practice. Interprofessional student teams compete at a live public event for a cash prize for the best management plan centred on a complex clinical case study. • National and international HCTCs are planned for future years.