Health Professions Education Programs Research Articles

Effects of an Interprofessional Project on Students' Perspectives on Interprofessional Education and Knowledge of Health Disciplines

Context: Interprofessional education (IPE) is encouraged in health care education in the hope that it will improve communication among future health care professionals. In response, health professional education programs are developing IPE curricula.Objective: To determine if a multicourse interprofessional (IP) project impacted students' knowledge and views on other health care professions, as well as their attitudes toward IPE.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Four university classrooms.Patients or Other Participants: Eighty-one undergraduate students (32 men, 49 women) from 4 introductory courses (2 athletic training sections, 41 students; 1 health administration section, 19 students; and 1 nursing section, 21 students) participated in 2 surveys and an IP project.Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed a modified Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire. The faculty assigned students to an IP group with representation from each discipline. Groups were instructed to produce a presentation on an assigned health care profession. After completing the project, students completed the same modified RIPLS questionnaire. Means and frequency were calculated. Quantitative data were analyzed with analysis of variance followed by Tukey post hoc testing when appropriate.Results: After the IP project, students from all disciplines reported an increased knowledge regarding nursing, health administration, athletic training, and other health care professions in general and how their discipline differed from other health care disciplines. All students agreed that they should practice communication with other health care disciplines. Other perceptions related to IPE did not change.Conclusions: Undergraduate athletic training, health administration, and nursing students who completed an IP project reportedly increased their knowledge of health care disciplines and increased their appreciation for practicing communication among health care disciplines. Future studies should assess how increasing basic knowledge of health care professions may impact the integration of advanced IPE concepts later in one's professional education.

What are the fundamentals for a Medical School Curriculum in the 21st Century?

As the twenty-first century hits its stride, health professions training and education programs are re-examining their validity and relevance in the context of their social accountability. The 2010 Lancet Commission Report, “Health Professionals for a New Century: Transforming Education to Strengthen Health Systems in an Interdependent World”1, called for change with both the need to transform education, to strengthen widespread health systems internationally and to train health professionals to meet the needs of society. One of the most translated and internationally disseminated Reports in The Lancet’s history; it highlighted a call from 20 professional and academic leaders for major reform in the training of doctors and other healthcare professionals for the next century. Fragmented, outdated, and static education models widely adopted, now produce graduates who fail to meet the needs of society.[...]

“Talk to them”: Teaching communication skills to students of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Objective : To explore students’ perceptions of the efficacy and value of teaching communication skills in a health professional course for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Methods : Individual surveys were used to evaluate students’ self-assessment of their communication skills pre and post a communication subject in a four-year degree course in a Bachelor of Health Science in TCM at a large metropolitan university in Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Results : Findings indicate that students recognise the need for good communication skills training as part of their professional training and self-reported that their communication skills improved following a semester of study of a communication subject. Conclusions : One of the primary components driving increasing demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which includes TCM, is that consumers place a high value on effective communication and quality engagement with their CAM provider. Communication skills are often seen as the cornerstone of good health care practice, patient recovery and practitioner job satisfaction. Implementing a focused communication skills component in health professional educational programs, including those for TCM, is therefore essential. Further research is needed to explore the retention of these skills throughout health professionals’ degree programs and after graduation and clinical experience, to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of personal communication skills education. Practice implications : Communication skills training should be incorporated into health care profession curricula, early in the program and integrated with clinical exposure.

Supervising international students in clinical placements: perceptions of experiences and factors influencing competency development.

BackgroundHealth professional education programs attract students from around the world and clinical supervisors frequently report that international students find learning in clinical placement contexts particularly challenging. In existing literature clinical supervisors, who support international students on placement have identified concerns about their communication and interactions within clinical environments.However, clinical supervisors’ perspectives about their experiences with international students on placement and the strategies they utilise to facilitate international student learning have not been described. As a result we have little insight into the nature of these concerns and what clinical supervisors do to support international students’ competency development.MethodsFive focus group interviews were conducted with twenty Speech-Language Pathology clinical supervisors, recruited from 2 Australian universities. Interview data were analysed thematically. Themes identified were interpreted using cognitive load and sociocultural learning theories to enhance understanding of the findings.ResultsFour themes were identified: ‘Complex teaching and learning relationships’, ‘Conceptions of students as learners’; Student communication skills for professional practice’, and ‘Positive mutual learning relationships’.ConclusionsFindings indicated that clinical supervisors felt positive about supporting international students in clinical placements and experienced mutual learning benefits. However, they also identified factors inherent to international students and the placement environment that added to workload, and made facilitating student learning complex. Clinical supervisors described strategies they used to support international students’ cultural adjustment and learning, but communication skills were reported to be difficult to facilitate within the constraints of placements. Future research should address the urgent need to develop and test strategies for improving international students’ learning in clinical settings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0702-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Interprofessional Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Education for Registered Nurses and Behavioral Health Professionals

Although substance use is prevalent in the United States, the majority of people who misuse substances do not receive appropriate treatment. This paper describes, (1) an interprofessional education (IPE) program for health professionals to provide Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment to rural substance use patients, and (2) compares registered nurses' [RNs] and behavioral health professionals' [BHPs] attitudes to work with those patients and their perceptions on IPE. A data analysis of 62 RNs and 36 BHPs shows statistically significant increases in both attitudes and perceptions. This paper discusses the implications of the IPE program vis-á-vis substance use treatment.

Using Interprofessional Learning for Continuing Education: Development and Evaluation of the Graduate Certificate Program in Health Professional Education for Clinicians.

Health professionals may be expert clinicians but do not automatically make effective teachers and need educational development. In response, a team of health academics at an Australian university developed and evaluated the continuing education Graduate Certificate in Health Professional Education Program using an interprofessional learning model. The model was informed by Collins interactional expertise and Knowles adult learning theories. The team collaboratively developed and taught four courses in the program. Blended learning methods such as web-based learning, face-to-face workshops, and online discussion forums were used. Twenty-seven multidisciplinary participants enrolled in the inaugural program. Focus group interview, self-report questionnaires, and teacher observations were used to evaluate the program. Online learning motivated participants to learn in a collaborative virtual environment. The workshops conducted in an interprofessional environment promoted knowledge sharing and helped participants to better understand other discipline roles, so they could conduct clinical education within a broader health care team context. Work-integrated assessments supported learning relevance. The teachers, however, observed that some participants struggled because of lack of computer skills. Although the interprofessional learning model promoted collaboration and flexibility, it is important to note that consideration be given to participants who are not computer literate. We therefore conducted a library and computer literacy workshop in orientation week which helped. An interprofessional learning environment can assist health professionals to operate outside their "traditional silos" leading to a more collaborative approach to the provision of care. Our experience may assist other organizations in developing similar programs.

Australian osteopathic students' perceptions of interprofessional relationships

BackgroundInterprofessional education is increasingly included in health profession education programs as governments strive to improve patient care and outcomes through interprofessional teams. ObjectiveTo investigate Australian osteopathy students perceptions of interprofessional relationships. DesignSingle administration of a questionnaire to students explore perceptions of interprofessional relationships. SettingTwo Australian university-based osteopathy programs. MethodsStudents completed the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive data were generated for each of the IEPS items, total and factor scores. Ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between the IEPS items and the demographic variables: age; gender; university; and year level. Cronbach's alpha was calculated as the reliability estimate. ParticipantsStudents enrolled in the osteopathy programs at Victoria University (Melbourne, Australia) and Southern Cross University (Lismore, Australia). ResultsResponses from 319 students were analysed (63% response rate). The mean total IEPS score was 246.46 (±23.79). No association was observed for the demographic variables and eleven of the IEPS items in the regression models. Moderate odds ratios were observed for year 3 students in relation to their perception of autonomy and respect, where these perceptions were less positive compared to students in other year levels. Age, gender and university were significant in the regression models for other IEPS items however these odds ratios were either trivial or small. Cronbach's alpha was 0.818 indicating an acceptable internal structure for the 18-item IEPS. ConclusionsThe perception of Australian osteopathy students towards interprofessional relationships was largely positive, and not associated with demographics such as age, gender, program year level and the university they were attending. Students identified positive aspects such as the need to cooperate with other professions and that osteopaths are well trained. Where demographics were associated with an IEPS item, the odds ratio was typically trivial to small. Aspects that may also need to be improved were identified, including the students' perception of the status of osteopathy in the eyes of other health professions. The data from the present study could be used to inform the development of interprofessional programs involving osteopaths and osteopathy students. Further work to replicate the results of the present study is required.

Addressing the Irreducible Needs of Interprofessional Education: Creating and Sustaining an Institutional Commons for Health Professions Training

Leaders in health professions education schools and programs are under pressure to respond to new accreditation requirements for interprofessional education (IPE). The work of creating and sustaining an IPE program at an academic health center is in many ways analogous to the challenge of creating and sustaining a "commons"-a set of resources shared by many, but owned by none. In this Commentary, the authors borrow from the work of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrum to describe the "design principles" necessary to build and maintain the set of common resources needed to successfully implement and sustain an IPE program. They interpret these principles in the context of their own experiences implementing IPE programs and recommend three institutional structural elements necessary to build and sustain an IPE program: (1) a representative governance body, (2) an accountable director or leader, and (3) a structure supporting vertical and horizontal communication and authority.

Assessment in clinical simulation

Clinical simulation is a well-established practice in health professional education programs employing technologies to replace or amplify real experiences with guided experiences representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of selected physical or abstract systems. Educators generally employ collaborative debriefing as an integral part of clinical simulation for reflexive and experiential learning. A movement in higher education towards using simulation for competency-based assessment for high stakes testing such as certification or licensure of health professions has been observed. In face of such a complex evolution in educational practice, social practice theory may be useful to gain an understanding of the ways in which contextual factors affect how assessment practices become embedded into higher education contexts. Therefore, in this paper we take a social practice perspective and contend that these pressures are externally derived requirements. We note that in health professional education these requirements are often observed to be mandated by professional regulatory bodies and discipline-specific accrediting agencies.Debate over the appropriateness of each of the various purposeful approaches to assessment (assessment ‘of’, ‘for’, and ‘as’ learning) are not novel. However, our examination of how a potential move from assessment ‘for’ and ‘as’ learning towards adoption assessment ‘of’ learning practices in clinical simulation brings to light concerns over this contemporary pedagogical movement. To now, the body of literature that demonstrates the pedagogic advantages of employing clinical simulation in health professional education has been informed by research into learning environments that are highly supportive of reflexive and collaborative debriefing. Through review of the literature on assessment in clinical simulation we identify several important social elements of that learning environment, including trust and ontological security. We suggest these social elements may be at risk in the face of these evolving assessment practices, and that they warrant deeper investigation in this context.Lastly, we compare themes that emerge through this review of the literature with the essential values of networked learning. With connectivity and co-production of knowledge at the fore, the parallels between these themes and values suggest the utility in adoption of networked learning theory as a pedagogical framework in clinical simulation. Networked learning theory offers the area of assessment practices in clinical simulation, an at once undertheorized yet highly technologically enhanced and connected approach to learning, with a pedagogical framework upon which to build deepened understanding of an important social learning phenomenon.

P146: Designing better continuing education for rural emergency physicians

Introduction / Innovation Concept: Rural emergency physicians often work alone, and identify higher needs for continuing professional development in emergency medicine (EM) than urban doctors. We have offered the Community Emergency Medicine Outreach program (CEMO) at 12 rural hospitals in Eastern Ontario since 2009. Each emergency team selects topics in Adult EM for discussion at half-day outreach sessions at their local hospital. Methods: The CEMO program director participated in a Masters of Health Professions Education program. Newly learned concepts were applied to further the development of CEMO. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: Five important lessons learned, and their impacts on CEMO: First, curriculum design is a dynamic process. While CEMO was originally developed for physicians, the program has attracted many participants from other disciplines including nurses, administrators, pharmacists, and learners. Content and delivery have been redesigned to enhance inter-professional learning, which promotes team harmony, local problem solving, and knowledge translation into practice. Second, learning must be highly relevant to the local context to be effective. The content of each CEMO session is tailored to each group’s perceived and ascribed learning needs. CEMO is informed by sociocultural, transformative, experiential and cognitivist learning theories. Teaching strategies include interactive discussion of locally encountered clinical cases, and simulation. Third, it is more effective to integrate new technologies into a larger curriculum than to offer them as stand-alone modules. CEMO incorporates innovative presentation software, screencasts, procedural videos, and online audience response systems to engage participants. Fourth, learning effectiveness is best measured using multiple sources of assessment, and multiple assessments over time. CEMO’s learner assessment strategies include self-reflection at sessions, and months later. Participants consider CEMO’s effects on their practice, including reactions of co-workers and patients to their new skills, knowledge and behaviours. Finally, program evaluation may take many forms, and begins with defining evaluation goals and questions. We have developed a program logic model for CEMO, and a combined process and outcome evaluation is in progress. Conclusion: The application of important educational concepts promotes the design of effective continuing education in emergency medicine for rural health professionals.

Revealing "Tut Wuri Handayani" - A Student-Centred Learning Approach- by Ki Hajar Dewantara from The Early 20th Century: A Literature Review

Background: Student-centred learning is characterized by constructive, collaborative and contextual learning; derived from the constructivism theory. We studied the principle of “Tut Wuri Handayani” / TWH (to follow the learners to achieve their utmost potentials) which was initiated in 1922 by Dewantara, who was the first Ministry of Education, Republic of Indonesia.Method: A qualitative method with ‘content-analysis’ was used to study the articles written by Dewantara published in Indonesian newspapers between 1920-1960. We reflected the articles into current evidences of student-centred learning principles. Validations were done through three times focus group discussions (FGDs) by 30 students of a master’s of health professional education program and in-depth interview with two national experts in higher education.Results: In the period of early 20th century, Dewantara’s ideas had arrived at ‘contextual’ and ‘collaborative’ principles; the basis of current philosophy of student-centred learning. Dewantara’s exceptional initiatives were: (1) emphasizing equity between learners and teachers regardless the strong hierarchical social culture among Indonesian, (2) making the best use of cultural events and instruments as rigorous learning resources to enhance the sensory abilities and social sensitivity of the students towards community’s needs, (3) promoting observation-based learning to promote self-directed learning by helping the students to reflect on their mistakes, to be independent thinkers and to be responsible persons, to minimize gaps between attitudes and behaviours, and to provide role models and opportunities for students to actively participate in learning.Conclusion: “Tut Wuri Handayani” or ‘to follow the learners to achieve their utmost potentials’ revealed as a student-centred learning principle emphasizes life-long learning. Dewantara may be regarded as one of the world-wide leaders in education.

Problem-based Learning and Theories of Teaching and Learning in Health Professional Education

Although problem-based learning (PBL) has been linked to several theories of teaching and learning, how these theories are applied remains unclear. The objective of this paper is to explore how theories of teaching and learning relate to and can inform problem-based learning within health professional education programs. We conducted a scoping review on current theories of teaching and learning and considered their relevancy to the problem-based learning approach. The findings suggest that no single theory of teaching and learning can fully represent the complexity of learning in PBL. Recognizing the complexity of the PBL environment and the fluidity between theories of teaching and learning, we proposed eight principles from across 11 theories of teaching and learning that can inform how PBL is operationalised in university-based health professional education: 1) Adult learners are independent and self-directed; 2) Adult learners are goal oriented and internally motivated; 3) Learning is most effective when it is applicable to practice; 4) Cognitive processes support learning; 5) Learning is active and requires active engagement; 6) Interaction between learners supports learning; 7) Activation of prior knowledge and experience supports learning; and 8) Elaboration and reflection supports learning. These eight principles provide the foundation for curriculum design recommendations relevant to PBL within university-based education programs. Specifically, our findings suggest that active engagement and interactions should be encouraged, that students should be prompted to activate their prior knowledge and experiences, and that elaboration and reflection on learning is critical. The small group format of PBL can facilitate this engagement if students question each other, consider alternative perspectives, and are actively involved in setting learning objectives. Further research is needed to develop the empirical basis for these principles and examine if PBL is an effective approach for implementing these principles.

A systematic review: Children & Adolescents as simulated patients in health professional education.

Simulated patients (SP) contribute to health professional education for communication, clinical skills teaching, and assessment. Although a significant body of literature exists on the involvement of adult SPs, limited research has been conducted on the contribution of children and adolescents. This systematic review, using narrative summary with thematic synthesis, aims to report findings related to children/adolescents as simulated patients in health professions education (undergraduate or post-graduate). A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature published between 1980 and September 2014 was undertaken using databases including CINAHL, Ovid Medline and Scopus. The lack of literature related to the employment of children and adolescents in nursing education dictated the expansion of the search to the wider health professions. Key search terms related to the employment of children and adolescents in health professional education programs. A total of 58 studies reduced to 36 following exclusion based on abstract review. Twenty-two studies reached full text review; following application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 English language studies involving children and/or adolescents in simulation formed part of this systematic review. Five key themes emerged: Process related to recruitment, duration and content of training programs, support and debriefing practice, ethical considerations, and effects of participation for key stakeholders such as children and adolescents, parent and faculty, and learner outcomes. The results suggest that the involvement of children and adolescents in simulation for education and assessment purposes is valuable and feasible. The review identified the potential for harm to children/adolescents; however, rigorous selection, training and support strategies can mitigate negative outcomes. The ability of children to portray a role consistently across assessments, and deliver constructive feedback remains ambiguous.

Psychometric properties of the dundee ready educational environment measure in a sample of Ghanaian Medical Students.

The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) has been widely accepted and recognized for the assessment of the educational environment in a variety of health professions education programs. Concerns regarding the psychometric properties of the DREEM have been raised. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the DREEM in a sample of Ghanaian medical students following a problem-based learning curriculum. A sample of 234 second to fourth year medical students of the University for Development Studies, School of Medicine and Health Sciences were invited to complete the DREEM questionnaire. Psychometric measures employed included Cronbach's alpha analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and principal component analysis with varimax rotation. The internal consistency for the overall DREEM was 0.92. Apart from two subscales that had Cronbach's alpha values < 0.70, the remainder had values ranging from 0.73 - 0.78. Confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original five factor structure of the DREEM. Large significant correlation coefficients were found between the five factors raising concerns about the independency of the individual subscales. Exploratory factor analysis suggested various factor solutions ranging from 4 to 14 factors. The four factor structure was interpretable and was maintained. All of the four factors achieved eigenvalues > 1, and in total they accounted for 37.6% of the variance. Alpha values for the subscales of the new four factor structure ranged from 0.618 - 0.915. The overall internal consistency of the DREEM was found to be excellent. The internal consistency of the individual subscales was variable, as two subscales had alpha values < 0.70 and the remainder exceeding 0.70. The original five factor structure of the DREEM was not supported. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four factor solution as a possible alternative to the five factor structure of the DREEM.

The Educational Model of Private Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: Revisited for 2003-2013.

Trends in the development of new private colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) described by the author in 2003 have accelerated in the ensuing decade. During 2003 to 2013, 10 new COMs as well as 2 remote teaching sites and 4 new branch campuses at private institutions were accredited, leading to a 98% increase in the number of students enrolled in private COMs. The key features of the private COM educational model during this period were a reliance on student tuition, the establishment of health professions education programs around the medical school, the expansion of class size, the creation of branch campuses and remote teaching sites, an environment that emphasizes teaching over research, and limited involvement in facilities providing clinical services to patients. There is institutional ownership of preclinical instruction, but clinical instruction occurs in affiliated hospitals and medical institutions where students are typically taught by volunteer and/or adjunct faculty.Between 2003 and 2013, this model attracted smaller universities and organizations, which implemented the strategies of established private COMs in initiating new private COMs, branch campuses, and remote teaching sites. The new COMs have introduced changes to the osteopathic profession and private COM model by expanding to new parts of the country and establishing the first for-profit medical school accredited in the United States in modern times. They have also increased pressure on the system of osteopathic graduate medical education, as the number of funded GME positions available to their graduates is less than the need.

Leveraging mobile smart devices to improve interprofessional communications in inpatient practice setting: A literature review

As mobile smart device use has increased in society, the healthcare community has begun using these devices for communication among professionals in practice settings. The purpose of this review is to describe primary literature which reports on the experiences with interprofessional healthcare communication via mobile smart devices. Based on these findings, this review also addresses how these devices may be utilized to facilitate interprofessional education (IPE) in health professions education programs. The literature search revealed limited assessments of mobile smart device use in clinical practice settings. In available reports, communication with mobile smart devices was perceived as more effective and faster among interdisciplinary members. Notable drawbacks included discrepancies in the urgency labeling of messages, increased interruptions associated with constant accessibility to team members, and professionalism breakdowns. Recently developed interprofessional competencies include an emphasis on ensuring that health profession students can effectively communicate on interprofessional teams. With the increasing reliance on mobile smart devices in the absence of robust benefit and risk assessments on their use in clinical practice settings, use of these devices may be leveraged to facilitate IPE activities in health education professions programs while simultaneously educating students on their proper use in patient care settings.

Service user involvement in health professional education: is it effective in promoting recovery-oriented practice?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how mental health service user involvement in health professional education adds value to student learning about recovery-oriented practice and to determine the quality and suitability of instruments used in studies to evaluate this involvement in terms of their: relationship to recovery-oriented practice; and psychometric properties. Design/methodology/approach – Studies of service user involvement were reviewed to identify their research objectives. These were mapped against an Australian recovery-oriented practice capability framework together with the constructs measured by instruments used in these studies. Psychometric properties for each instrument were evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. Findings – While research objectives are not stated in terms of recovery-oriented practice, they do relate to some elements of a recovery-oriented practice framework. No instrument measures outcomes against all recovery-oriented practice domains. The AQ has the strongest evidence for its psychometric properties. The most commonly used instrument measures only stigma and has poorly validated psychometric properties. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates that the “value add” of service user involvement in health professional education has been poorly defined and measured to date. Learning from lived experience is central to a recovery-orientation and is an expectation of health professional education programmes. Defining objectives for service user involvement in terms of recovery-oriented practice and developing an instrument which measures student learning against these objectives are important areas for ongoing research supporting improved approaches to supporting people’s recovery.

Survival of children with sickle cell disease in the comprehensive newborn screening programme in Minas Gerais, Brazil

BackgroundChildren in developing countries with sickle cell disease SCD have high rates of mortality, especially in some parts of Africa.AimTo compare the 5-year estimated mortality rate in children born between 1999 and 2001 with that of children born between 2009 and 2011.MethodsDuring the period 1998–2012, sickle cell disease was diagnosed in 2591 of 3,617,919 newborns screened in Minas Gerais, Brazil (1 : 1,400). The estimated probability of death [1 - Survival] was calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. The logrank test was used to compare groups of survival data.ResultsOf the 2576 children (15 were excluded), 193 died (7.4%): 153 (79.3%) had SS/Sβ0-thalassaemia, 34 had SC (17.6%), and six (3.1%) had Sβ+ thalassaemia. The 5-year estimated mortality was lower for children born between 2009 and 2011 (n=509) than for those born between 1999 and 2001 (n=624), although not significantly [mean (SD) 5.8% (1.1) vs 6.2% (1.0)], respectively).ConclusionDespite an effective ongoing comprehensive screening programme, mortality from SCD in Minas Gerais is still high. To decrease mortality rates, socio-economic development and SCD education programmes for health professionals and families are required.

Mental health consumer participation in education: a structured literature review.

Consumer participation in design, delivery and evaluation of occupational therapy educational programs is a recently introduced requirement for accreditation. It aligns with the principle of recovery, which underpins Australian mental health policy. Graduates' capabilities for recovery-oriented practice are thought to be enhanced through learning from consumers' lived experience. This structured literature review evaluates the current evidence for mental health consumer participation in health professional education to inform occupational therapy educators. Searches were completed in five online databases, one journal and published reading lists on the topic. Studies were included if they addressed mental health consumer participation in health professional education programs, were published in peer reviewed journals between 2000 and 2014 and were in English. Articles were critically reviewed, and analysed for key findings related to stages of the educational process and recovery-oriented practice capabilities. An emerging body of evidence for consumer participation in mental health education was identified. Studies are characterised by a lack of quality and a low to medium level of evidence. Findings relate to design, planning, delivery and evaluation of education as well as to most aspects of recovery-oriented practice. Emphases on exploratory research and proximal outcomes, and a reliance on published outcome measurement instruments designed for other purposes are key limitations in this body of evidence. This study identifies a weak evidence base for the requirement for consumer participation in occupational therapy programs, specifically related to mental health curricula. A research agenda is proposed in response.

A novel interdisciplinary health professions education program at King Saud University: strategy and structure (Phase I)

A novel interdisciplinary health professions education program at King Saud University: strategy and structure (Phase I)