Universal Tertiary Education Curriculum: Interprofessional Education (IPE) with Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Through a Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Mindset

10.6145/jme.202406_28(2).0002

Francis I. Achike；Malobi O. Achike

problem-based learning ； interprofessional education ； diversity ； curriculum ； tertiary education

Journal of Medical Education

28卷2期（2024 / 06 / 01）

66 - 78

英文

Background: Since the dawn of the 20th century Medical Education has championed teaching/learning philosophies rooted in adult education principles (andragogy). Problem- Based Learning (PBL) with its distinctive delivery modality is debatably the most impactful and gold standard of these advances. While PBL has grown beyond Medicine, Interprofessional Education (IPE) for collaborative patient-centered care remains siloed in health professions curricula despite potential benefits for the broader tertiary education domain as exemplified in novel Engineering-in-Medicine programs. Methods and Results: We identified three categories of challenges and offered solutions incorporating Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), a growing concept across health and non-health disciplines. The challenges are: i. slow and limited spread of PBL and IPE philosophies into disciplines outside of Medicine, ii. inadequacy / lack of integration of these teaching/learning philosophies to promote holism in Medicine and beyond, iii. sustaining the finest principles of these teaching/learning philosophies within and beyond Medicine. We discussed the etymology and epistemology of PBL and IPE. From perspectives of the ancient African Ubuntu and Chinese Yin-Yang holism philosophies we established the centrality of DEI for excellence in teaching/ learning. For solutions, we examined the intersectionality of PBL, IPE and DEI, including their self-directed, collaborative, team-oriented, problem solving, belongingness, and lifelong learning philosophies. Conclusions: We present an argument for integrating PBL, IPE, and DEI to achieve the tripartite (teaching/learning, research, and community development) mission of tertiary education in medicine and beyond, thus creating a trans-professional/ transdisciplinary framework for a universal tertiary education curriculum (UTEC).