After three years of online interprofessional learning due to the pandemic, UBC Health is celebrating the successful return to in-person delivery of the Integrated Curriculum.

Interprofessional education occurs when two or more professions learn with, about, and from each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Academic research has found that collaborative competencies are best developed when students engage in interactive learning and have opportunities to build meaningful connections.

The Integrated Curriculum, delivered by UBC Health on behalf of health professional programs, provides meaningful opportunities for students to come together for interprofessional learning about areas of practice that benefit from a collaborative approach.

From my perspective as a community member, lawyer who represents healthcare professionals, and member of clinical ethics committees, both the content and opportunity for students in a variety of health disciplines to learn with, about, and from each other through UBC Health’s Integrated Curriculum is invaluable.

There was a palpable energy from both students and facilitators (some shown in the photo) during this year’s in-person workshops, which provided opportunities for connection and aligned with best practices in interprofessional and Indigenous pedagogies.

While some sessions remained online to accommodate health programs across UBC’s distributed sites, experienced facilitators worked hard to enable the same level of engagement and connection for students. Several in-person and online sessions were further enhanced by the involvement of patients, people with lived and living experience, and community members.

“From my perspective as a community member, lawyer who represents healthcare professionals, and member of clinical ethics committees, both the content and opportunity for students in a variety of health disciplines to learn with, about, and from each other through UBC Health’s Integrated Curriculum is invaluable,” says Katherine Arnold, one of the facilitators. “The curriculum and course materials are reviewed and improved each year, students are engaged, and facilitators are supported such that diverse perspectives and experiences can be shared in smaller groups while maintaining the same core content and learning experience. Returning to in-person sessions has been amazing, as is having patient facilitators, but UBC Health has also done and continues to do an incredible job with the online sessions.” 

This year’s Integrated Curriculum saw 2,290 students from 15 health professional programs, with 135 interprofessional facilitators filling nearly 300 facilitation roles.

Posted November 10, 2023