Successful collaboration in education: the UMeP

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• The UK healthcare education landscape requires increased collaboration between undergraduate and postgraduate institutions.
• Effective strategies for collaborative medical education projects are currently lacking.
• A pilot project involved three medical schools and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to adapt an ePortfolio for early undergraduate use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the complexities and challenges of inter-institutional collaboration in medical education.
• To provide practical insights and examples based on a real-world collaborative project.
• To advocate for the importance of collaborative partnerships in advancing medical education.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative project involving three medical schools and NHS Education for Scotland (NES).
• Modification, development, and delivery of a foundation programme ePortfolio (UMeP) for undergraduate medical students.
• Addressing the complexities of integrating a postgraduate ePortfolio into diverse undergraduate curricula and assessment systems.

Main Results:

• The project highlighted significant complexities arising from diverse institutional curricula and assessment methods.
• Collaboration required substantial compromise and adaptation among participating institutions.
• The initiative successfully introduced an authentic ePortfolio early in undergraduate medical training.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative partnerships in medical education, despite inherent complexities, are essential for successful innovation.
• Successful collaboration maximizes opportunities for robust evaluation and research in medical education.
• Sharing experiences and lessons learned can guide future inter-institutional educational projects.