A BEME Review: the contribution of theory to the effective development and delivery of interprofessional curricula in health and social care professional education.

Abstract

Background: Strong theoretical underpinnings are essential to the development of interprofessional education and medical education in general. In interprofessional education, researchers and educationalists alike have mined other disciplines for theories with potential utility. This has resulted in many theories on ‘offer’. This plethora, and the varied quality of theory application, often confuses, rather than clarifies, ways in which theory contributes to effective IPE curricula. Summary of work: A BEME review is currently in progress that aims to offer guidance to curriculum developers on how to design rigorous professional curricula with strong theoretical underpinnings. It asks: What is the contribution of theory to the effective development and delivery of interprofessional curricula in health and social care professional education? Summary of results: We present the outcomes of the pilot conducted for the review and highlight the challenges we have faced. We focus specifically on the benefits and challenges to having a librarian on the review team, the importance of a pilot in such a review and the challenges to measuring the quality of theory application in medical education development and delivery. We also share some of the preliminary findings from the pilot. Conclusions: The review will enable medical educators to select and apply theories that are fit-for-purpose, that promote reflection on the why, rather than just the how, of designing, delivering and evaluating an effective curriculum. Take-home messages: A librarian is an invaluable resource to a review team. A pilot of the review is essential to test the protocol at all stages of the review.