1

Introduction^1,2

The COVID-19 pandemic was arguably the greatest disrupter health professional education has ever experienced. This was the sentiment expressed by opening speakers asked to reflect on personal experiences in the final session of a two part workshop series of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education (the forum). To explore how lessons learned from this unprecedented pandemic event could inform the future of health professions education (HPE), the forum held multiple virtual workshops in 2020 and 2021. Its first workshop, on December 3, 2020, focused on identifying challenges faced by educators, administrators, and students amidst the pandemic and how the different stakeholder groups shifted and adapted in response.³ The second workshop was held on April 7, 2021. At it, participants from 17 different health professions explored how they might respond to hypothetical—but realistic—future world situations impacting HPE. These two workshops factored into the

___________________

¹ The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop, and the Proceedings of a Workshop was prepared by the rapporteurs as a factual account of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual presenters and participants and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus.

² Presentations from this workshop series can be accessed at https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/lessons-learned-in-health-professions-education-from-the-covid-19-pandemic-part-2-of-a-workshop-series (accessed February 11, 2022).

³ The proceedings of the first workshop may be accessed at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/26210 (accessed February 11, 2022).

third one that took place on April 22, 2021, where forum members and other participants contemplated the future of HPE post-COVID. The closing session for the series was on May 25, 2021 (see Appendix D for a timeline of the workshops). In this one-hour event, participants explored next steps for how they might apply lessons being learned throughout the entire workshop series to allow educators to test and evaluate educational innovations in real time or as was stated by the presenters, “build the bridge while crossing it.” This proceedings summarize the second, third, and fourth workshops of this series.

ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP AND PROCEEDINGS STRUCTURE

This Proceedings of a Workshop is a chronological summary on what transpired during the second half of the virtual workshop series. Appendix B contains the two agendas outlining the workshop, which were designed by a workshop planning committee (see page v for the list of planning committee members) in accordance with its Statement of Task (see Box 1-1). The agendas show a mix of formats were used to engage the audience including expert presentations, moderated panel discussions, and small group breakout sessions.

Chapter 1 begins with a reflection on the lessons learned in HPE between the start of the pandemic in 2020 through April 2021. This is followed by a description of the scenario planning activity in Chapter 2, which provided the creative energy for the ensuing discussions outlined in subsequent chapters. Chapter 3 explores challenges and opportunities within HPE due to the pandemic with a focus on experiential learning, testing, communication, and faculty development. Chapter 4 looks to expand conversations about how to balance sustainable HPE innovations with financial feasibility. Embedded in this chapter’s presentations and discussions, which described competency-based education and the role of community colleges, is the importance of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of health professional education. These messages are underscored in Chapter 5 during an interview with Sylvia Trent Adams, the former U.S. Deputy Surgeon General. Chapter 6 is a description of the closing session where the entire workshop series is reviewed before presenters discuss a potential way forward, educators and administrators to consider that could strengthen HPE while also preparing for the next yet to be determined crisis.

REFLECTIONS ON LESSONS LEARNED

On April 22, Mary Jo Bondy, Physician Assistant Education Association, offered her reflections on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bondy began with a brief synopsis of the beginning of the pandemic, noting that despite containment efforts, the SARS-CoV-2 virus quickly spread from China to other nations who were “caught off guard, unprepared, and inadequately resourced to address the rapid spread.” As cases and deaths rose in the United States, public gathering spaces were shut down, including educational institutions, workplaces, and some health care facilities. The shift to virtual learning, work, and health care had some positive impacts, she said, but it also exacerbated disparities. For example, individuals with lower paying jobs were often unable to work remotely, and students without access to computers and an Internet connection were unable to transition to remote classes. Bondy listed a few of the many impacts that COVID-19 had on HPE:

• faculty were pressed to innovate as they rapidly transitioned to virtual coursework and clinical education, increased the use of simulations, and used competency-based approaches;
• admissions processes changed to allow more flexible criteria and the use of virtual interviews; and
• testing was delayed, cancelled, or moved to a virtual format.

The lessons learned from these experiences, said Bondy, can be leveraged

to better prepare for the next crisis, as well as to improve HPE in general. Leadership and collaboration are essential, she said; academics, practitioners, accreditors, and licensing bodies need to “learn with and from each other rather than retrenching to silos of our professions.” COVID-19 was a “stress test,” and it revealed that HPE needs to better prepare before the next crisis. The pandemic demonstrated the need to close the health equity gap and the digital divide, and the importance of health literacy in all communities. Finally, Bondy said, the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the issue of burnout, and drew attention to the critical need to address the health and well-being of faculty, students, and clinicians.