Flying blind: The experience of online interprofessional facilitation

Abstract

The role of the facilitator is known to be important in fostering productive interprofessional education (IPE) in the face-to-face (F2F) environment. Online learning can help surmount some of the logistical challenges in IPE by bringing together diverse professionals in multiple geographical locations. Best practices in F2F IPE facilitation are beginning to emerge, but there is scant literature examining IPE facilitation online. What little research exists has focused on the asynchronous environment and suggests that the skill sets of online and F2F facilitators have considerable overlap, but there are further demands in the online setting. This qualitative study sought to examine online synchronous IPE facilitation through the self-reported experiences of seven trained facilitators during a 12-week online course. Data collected through focus groups and targeted interviews were analyzed by the research team using constant comparison techniques. Four major themes were revealed: technology as a dynamic force, reduction in non-verbal cues, evolution of the online IPE group process over time and the importance of co-facilitation. The foundations of IPE facilitation were seen to carry over to the online setting. This study has implications for the training of IPE facilitators and for the design of online IPE learning experiences.

Keywords::

• computer supported learning
• interprofessional collaboration
• interprofessional education
• interprofessional facilitation
• online
• synchronous

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the facilitators and participants in the COIL program as well as Dennis Cheung and Alexandra Sparaggis and the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation.

Declaration of interest This study was funded by a Continuing Education Research & Development grant from Continuing Education and Professional Development, University of Toronto. The COIL project was funded by a non-restrictive educational grant from Hong Kong and Singapore Bank of Canada (HSBC). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.