Technologies for interprofessional education: the interprofessional education-distributed "e-Classroom-of-the-Future"

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Telemedicine
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Effective communication strategies are crucial for interprofessional education (IPE) program success.
• The increasing variety of telecommunication tools presents challenges in selection and integration for IPE.
• Traditional communication barriers in healthcare interprofessional practice persist.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and establish a "command-and-control" video conferencing center for interprofessional team training.
• To create a virtual classroom setting for presenting tele-consultation patients to interprofessional teams.
• To integrate innovative social networking platforms to enhance communication in IPE.

Main Methods:

• Development of the T-Health Amphitheater, a video conferencing facility, in Phoenix.
• Electronic presentation of tele-consultation patients from affiliated tele-clinics.
• Integration of social networking platforms (eStacks™ and eSwaps™) within the virtual learning environment.

Main Results:

• The T-Health video conferencing facility was successfully designed and constructed.
• Early assessments indicate the learning environment is both student- and faculty-friendly.
• The integrated social networking platforms show potential in overcoming communication barriers in healthcare IPE.

Conclusions:

• The T-Health Amphitheater provides a novel virtual learning environment for interprofessional team training.
• Innovative social networking platforms may facilitate improved communication in healthcare interprofessional education and practice.
• This facility offers a scalable model for advanced tele-based interprofessional education.