Sharmi Haque – Maastricht University: PedSig Essay
The term "interprofessional education" (IPE) is used to describe the instructional methods through which members of different healthcare professions may study together. The primary premise is that by working together, greater results for patients may be attained. In settings where interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams improve the quality of treatment for patients, it has been shown to be effective(1–3). Problem-based learning (PBL_ combined with IPE is rapidly becoming a standard component of both undergraduate and graduate programmes. Mounting evidence demonstrates that IPE and PBL may improve the attitudes of healthcare workers(4,5). However, cross-professional planning would be required to see lasting results from either approach. Design thinking (DT) stands alongside project-based learning (PBL) as a reliable approach at the forefront of innovation(6–9). Using DT and PBL in the IPE helps accelerate the process of bettering treatment quality for patients.
Growing relevance of IPE is penetrative in contemporary healthcare, a model is needed to pinpoint discordance between disciplines(10,11). To be successful in collaborative efforts, especially when tackling difficult situations, it proves to have a nuanced perspective. By combining the viewpoints of healthcare professionals with techniques like empathy, brainstorming, prototyping, and design, DT is a creative process that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
DT has been increasingly employed to enhance health care for patients through innovation in complex healthcare systems including better clinical service delivery. A multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers may learn how to improve the patient experience by engaging in a systematic design thinking process that fosters greater awareness and empathy for the patient perspective(6,7,11,12). Future health care professionals will need to be proficient in employing design thinking for the creation and implementation of competitive offerings, and to hone the necessary modern skills" for navigating the contemporary demanding healthcare system. The concern for medical educators is how to create opportunities for all learners to acquire design mental capacities; it may potentiate the impact on how medical education programmes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels are structured(2).
Drawing upon prior experience, the curation of the Intermediate Level 1 programme at The Healthcare Leadership Academy, a multidisciplinary team of early career healthcare leaders were able to use PBL cases in innovation to better understand the implications and opportunity value in the marketing of paediatric innovation(2,4). Dutch medical curriculum pivots on the CANMed competencies: curriculum that equips future doctors with the skills they need to work with young patients, including the confidence to communicate effectively, knowledge of the spectrum of typical development in children and adolescents, and the ability to recognise and respond to deviations from the norm(7–9,11). Orientation of DT, PBL and IPE in both pre-clinical and clerkship training had enabled me to draw upon multiple disciplines to better understand the end user - the patient(3–5).
DT iteratively develops creativity and innovation, drawing upon IPE in medical education particularly where novel solutions are required in paediatric medical education. Medical educators must teach present and future healthcare professionals’ contemporary ways of thinking to incorporate the IPE evolving sphere(1,2,4).
References
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11. Acharya S, Bhatt AN, Chakrabarti A, Delhi VSK, Diehl JC, Mota N, et al. Design Thinking as a Strategy to Inculcate Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Undergraduate Education Across South Asian Universities. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2022 Dec 2];222:547–59. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347557485_Design_Thinking_as_a_Strategy_to_Inculcate_ProblemBased_Learning_PBL_in_Undergraduate_Education_Across_South_Asian_Universities
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