As many as 355 students and 43 facilitators took part in an Interprofessional Education (IPE) programme hosted recently by QU Health at Qatar University (QU), on the development of effective healthcare teams.
'Being an Effective Team Player,' highlighted the importance of cultivating teamwork skills among health professionals.
The event brought together students from various health profession programmes from both QU and the University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ). The aim was to promote an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of health professionals in a collaborative practice setting, while highlighting the benefits of interprofessional learning.
The event also saw discussions to improve interprofessional learning and to build effective healthcare teams, while also addressing common communication breakdowns that can impact team environments and patient safety.
The students and facilitators were from QU Health colleges including the College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, College of Dental Medicine and College of Health Sciences, and the UCQ.
The event provided a space for health profession students to learn about interprofessional learning and collaborative practice and to reflect on methods to build effective teams in the healthcare setting. The significance of the IPE activity lies in its emphasis on effective team communication and decision-making skills, and its call to recognise the importance of all health professionals in providing quality care to patients. Through activities like these, QU Health is paving the way for the next generation of health professionals to work collaboratively and improve patient outcomes.
The lead facilitator of the activity and assistant dean for student affairs at QU’s College of Dental Medicine, Dr Aala Daoud, said: "I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between the diverse mix of students, exchanging information about their professions and eliciting shared decision-making. I was really impressed with students’ attitudes towards interprofessional education and the quality of reflection. Overall, I strongly feel that the interprofessional education activity successfully achieved its goal of shaping communication skills, clarifying roles and responsibilities, enhancing team skills and knowledge, and promoting collaborative practice amongst healthcare profession students.”
Prof Vijay Ganji, Professor of Human Nutrition at QU and a faculty facilitator said: “Our group interacted with each other professionally and respected other students' perspectives. It was very pleasant to see how talented our students are.”
Omar Metwally, a student at QU’s College of Medicine, said: “As a senior medical student, I was very happy and enthusiastic about being a facilitator in such an important event. Not only because of how successful it was, but also because the values and morals that were being discussed throughout the event are main pillars that should be established in each member of the health team, and luckily, a lot of students realised how valuable they are after this event.”
Bashaer Nasser Alyafei, a Public Health student at QU said: “I had so much fun engaging with my colleagues from different health professions, sharing our knowledge, thoughts and opinions on how to be an effective team player. Interprofessional education is tremendously important to enhance co-operation between different professions, enhance the quality of patients, and healthcare outcomes.”
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