How can UNMC prepare a new generation of health professions educators to teach in programs related to medicine, public health, nursing, and other health professions, while also assessing and integrating new and emerging educational technology into their teaching?
Three new courses (please see sidebar at right), available this coming fall 2015 semester, may be the first step.
And pending University of Nebraska Board of Regents approval of a new degree, these courses would be the first step in an innovative, interprofessional Master of Health Professions Teaching and Technology program hosted by the College of Allied Health Professions.
“The effective use of technology to teach has become a necessity to meet the needs of the digitally-native millennial and post-millennial students who constitute the vast majority of students at universities worldwide,” said Dele Davies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs.
“This innovative and inter-professionally taught master’s program will focus not only on the pedagogy of learning, but will also enable the teacher-instructor to gain skills in effective use of technology to teach health professions students, and should be a valuable resource to faculty, instructors and advanced students in the U.S. and around the world.”
The new program will be completely online, and will aim to improve interprofessional instruction and innovative teaching methods in both academic and non-academic settings. Courses available this fall will explore learning theory, best practices in teaching, the design and application of educational research, and investigation of the uses of instructional technology in health professions education.
Dr. Davies said the past decade’s explosion of simulators, mobile devices, apps, social media and other modalities has been a tremendous opportunity for educators. He charged the UNMC e-Learning Steering Committee to develop an interdisciplinary program to train health professions educators.
“The development of this program has brought together faculty from across campus with expertise in multiple education areas,” said Janice Tompkins, director for academic and student affairs in the College of Allied Health Professions, who co-led the effort with Geoffrey Talmon, M.D.
“The skills and knowledge that our health care educators will gain in this program are key to keeping our institution as one of the nation’s premier educational institutions,” said Dr. Talmon, who serves as Linder Residency Director Distinguished Chair in pathology.