Talk 1:  Contact is not enough: A qualitative study of how space and place impact on interprofessional education

Jennifer Cleland

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Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to prepare health-care students to provide patient care in a collaborative team environment. However, much healthcare education is delivered in places and spaces which do not support interprofessional interaction. To examine the consequences of this, we explored how a relatively new healthcare education center (the “space” and “place”) impacted interprofessional learning. Qualitative sources of data (documents and focus groups) identified that while a key objective for the building was to support IPE, this was not translated into operational detail in later documents or into practice. Students experienced tensions and isolation from each other and other healthcare students because of the building’s place, the learning space within the building, and the interplay between the space and timetables. This suggests that space and place can impact on interprofessional learning, emphasizing the importance of clearly conceptualizing educational spaces and places to underpin successful IPE. 

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Speaker's bio:

Jennifer Cleland, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, D Clinical Psychology, FRCP (Edin), FAoME, FAMEE, is Professor of Medical Education Research, Vice-Dean (Education) and Director of the Medical Education Research and Scholarship Unit, LKC Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore. She publishes extensively in the field of medical education.

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Talk 2: Communication in a new competency-based integrated medical curriculum

Daniel T. Baptista-Hon & Lap Ki Chan

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Communication is a critical, and often overlooked, aspect of medical education. Our new Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program, the first of its kind in Macau SAR, includes a communications module integrated into its 5-year course. We utilise an ascending competency approach where students are initially encouraged to speak to their peers in a friendly environment through clinical case presentations and discussion groups. A Journal Club is subsequently introduced to develop students’ critical thinking skills. The module then evolves into including mock clinical interviews, with an emphasis on ensuring the conveyance of diagnosis and treatment plans, whilst avoiding jargons. In the later part of the program, more complex communication skills such as delivering bad news, taking sexual histories and speaking through interpreters are introduced. Throughout the module, students are also given opportunities to participate in public engagement exercises, through the production of posters, leaflets and other media.

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Speaker's Bio:

Daniel Baptista-Hon is currently assistant professor and co-ordinator of the MBBS Language and Communications module at the Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR of the People’s Republic of China. He is also honorary lecturer at the School of Medicine, University of Dundee, UK.

 

Lap Ki Chan is currently a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, director of the MBBS program, and the head of the Medical Education Unit, at the Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR of the People’s Republic of China.

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Talk 3:  Embedding cultural awareness and responsiveness in health practitioners’ education: An open discussion

Taiying Lee

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In an increasing culturally and linguistically diverse world, cultural awareness and responsiveness are central skillsets for health-care professionals to provide patient care catering to diverse populations. These are then essential skillsets to develop in students as they progress through clinical training. However, across countries and health-care professions each are at differing stages with developing this knowledge and skillset. This presentation explores the views from a diverse range of health-care professionals in Hong Kong. Qualitative data sources identified interprofessional agreement on the growing importance of cultural awareness and responsiveness in current clinical practice. There were, however, an array of views on the viability and teaching methodology to be used in embedding cultural awareness in clinical training and continued professional supervision. These ranged from it being a novel concept to the dire need for organisational change and support. This presentation also aims to jumpstart an open discussion and exploration into cultural awareness training methodology and practices across countries and professions.

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Speaker's bio:

Tai-ying Lee, is a practising speech-language pathologist and Assistant Professor in Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her research interests are centred in clinical education, bilingual development and communication disorders. She is part of the Health Practitioners’ Education (HPE) specialism teaching team in the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. 

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