The COVID-19 crisis silver lining: interprofessional education to guide future innovation

Abstract

Globally, the advent and rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has created significant disruption to health professions education and practice, and consequently interprofessional education, leading to a model of learning and practicing where much is unknown. Key questions for this ongoing evolution emerge for the global context leading to reflections on future directions for the interprofessional education field and its role in shaping future practice models. Health professions programs around the world have made a dramatic shift to virtual learning platforms in response to closures of academic institutions and restrictions imposed on learners accessing practice settings. Telemedicine, slow to become established in many countries to date, has also revolutionized practice in the current environment. Within the state of disruption and rapid change is the awareness of a silver lining that provides an opportunity for future growth. Key topics explored in this commentary include reflection on the application of existing competency frameworks, consideration of typology of team structures, reconsideration of theoretical underpinnings, revisiting of core dimensions of education, adaptation of interprofessional education activities, and the role in the future pandemic planning. As an international community of educators and researchers, the authors consider current observations relevant to interprofessional education and practice contexts and suggest a response from scholarship voices across the globe. The current pandemic offers a unique opportunity for educators, practitioners, and researchers to retain what has served interprofessional education and practice well in the past, break from what has not worked as well, and begin to imagine the new.

COVID-19 and Primary School 1st Grade in Turkey: Starting Primary School in The Pandemic Based on Teachers' Views

“…These results were discussed with the literature in order to improve the positive ones and reduce the negative ones. Remotely or face to face, it is thought that current pandemic experiences offer important opportunities for the future of education and the education of future generations (Langlois et al, 2020;Shearer et al, 2020).…”

“…In addition, according to Fidan's (2020) study results, access to emergency remote teaching and absenteeism is an important problem. It is stated that the pandemic offers opportunities to rapidly solve all these problems (Langlois et al, 2020).…”

Happy Home: Happiness at Home as a Lifelong Education Environment

“…However, stay at home restrictions offer opportunities for change and transformation for children and parents in many educational and social contexts (Langlois et al, 2020). The results of the study reveal that pandemic restrictions allow extraordinary transformations (Shearer et al, 2020).…”

Strengthening health systems response to COVID-19: interprofessional science rising to the challenge

“…Early and mid-career researchers may find the discussion papers in this themed issue of particular value, since these help navigate the new normal of interprofessional health and social care education and research; as well as offer tools, guidance and advice on taking future steps in this field. Langlois et al (2020) set out the key considerations for interprofessional education in the months and years to come, making a compelling case for its role in preparing the health and social care workforce to respond to the current, and future pandemics, including its important role in workforce resilience and wellbeing. An especially valuable paper on practical ways of doing interprofessional research in the pandemic era is also included courtesy of the Center for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) research group (Sy et al, 2020).…”