Defining Doctoral-Prepared Health Scientists' Identity.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Practice
• Doctoral Studies

Background:

• Quality healthcare delivery increasingly demands interdisciplinary teamwork skills.
• Health professions faculty must prepare graduates for interprofessional practice and scholarship.
• Traditional doctoral programs are discipline-specific, contrasting with the need for interprofessional collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the identity and role of the health scientist in advancing interprofessional education and practice.
• To highlight the importance of doctoral-prepared health scientists as facilitators of interprofessional collaboration.

Main Methods:

• This commentary paper synthesizes current understanding of interprofessional education.
• It defines the scholar-practitioner role within the health science doctorate framework.

Main Results:

• Doctoral-prepared health scientists function as knowledge brokers, translators, and change agents.
• They exemplify interprofessional research and communication, crucial for team-based care.
• These scholars enhance health professions education through improved reasoning and data analysis.

Conclusions:

• The health science doctorate is essential for fostering interprofessional collaboration in healthcare.
• Faculty must equip students with skills for complex problem-solving and team-based care.
• Doctoral-prepared health scientists are pivotal in advancing healthcare quality through interprofessional models.