Designing and developing a continuing interprofessional education model

Abstract

Background

Interprofessional education is considered as one of the approaches in educating learners in the health system that increases interprofessional collaboration and improves the quality of patient care.

Purpose

This study sought to design an interprofessional continuing education model.

Methods

This study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, a systematic review of literature and search of databases were conducted to identify the common models of interprofessional continuing education and to extract the elements used in these models. In the second stage, specialists in interprofessional continuing education were interviewed in relation to the features of elements derived from the first stage. In the third stage, the model of interprofessional continuing education was designed using the results of the first and second stages.

Results

Seven models were obtained. Five themes, including the subject of interprofessional continuing education, objectives, content, learning strategy, and evaluation strategies, were extracted from them. Specialists stated interprofessional collaboration, needs of community and learners, focus on patient, using interactive teaching methods, and feedback as the main features of these five themes.

Conclusion

The results of this study showed that providing a framework and model regulated in interprofessional continuing education programs can help design these programs.

Keywords:

• continuing education
• interprofessional education
• interprofessional learning
• post-registration

This article is referred to by:

Medical student reflections on interprofessional education

Acknowledgments

This study is supported by the Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, as part of a thesis.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.