IPR.Global Scholar Spotlight - Juliet Savanhu, National Health Service (UK)

Hello, my name is Juliet Savanhu and I am an enthusiastic nursing and clinical research practitioner who believes that we cannot entirely work as individuals as educators or researchers. Still, we need to collaborate with other professionals with different expertise.

I am a Zimbabwean born, United Kingdom-based Registered General Nurse currently working within the National Health Service (NHS). I have a wide range of clinical research experience as a Research Nurse. I am also an accredited UK Higher Education Fellow with nurse teaching experience in higher education institutions and clinical settings.  I recently joined IPR Global through an invitation, and I am a new member who is looking forward to being part of the team.

I am most proud of my work to support and mentor students from nursing, medical, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy specialities. Whether it is during their clinical placements, educational practice, or helping them design their dissertation projects, I have enjoyed being part of their journey to achieve their goals. 

What does IPR.Global mean to me?

IPR Global is essential to me as I will be collaborating with other global educators and researchers to improve IPR at global level. By joining IPR Global, I will have the opportunity to work with other educators from different professional backgrounds.

Should pineapple be on pizza?

Yes, definitely! It’s the only way to eat pizza.

Interprofessional Research.Global Scholar Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights member research in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  

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IPR.Global Scholar Spotlight - Dr. Esther DeGroot, University Medical Center UMC-Utrecht (Netherlands)

Hello!  My name is Dr. Esther de Groot and I work at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, where most of my work is in lifelong (informal) learning of professionals from different disciplines. I am enthusiastic about, committed to, and knowledgeable in medical education (research). My expertise is in specific research methods (realist reviews, video-stimulated recall interviews, and social network methods) and theories (boundary crossing theories, activity theory, social capital theory) which could be valuable for IPR.Global. My role is in supervising, initiating, and performing research. Finally, I keep a clear eye on opportunities for co-writing proposals to obtain research grants. 

While working in veterinary medicine, I became interested in OneHealth, which asks for education in interprofessional collaboration. Then I started working at the Medical School, doing research, and one of the PhD students for whom I became a supervisor was someone who, as a general practitioner, had been interested her whole life in intraprofessional collaboration (between professionals in primary and secondary care). Her enthusiasm for the topic was contagious. Also, the work of Sanne Akkerman on boundary-crossing inspires me as it emphasises the learning opportunities that differences between people and between contexts provide; interprofessional – and intraprofessional collaboration hence became one of my core research topics.

As a researcher, I am particularly proud on this publication:

Meijer, L. J., de Groot, E., Honing-de Lange, G., Kearney, G., Schellevis, F. G., & Damoiseaux, R. A. M. J. (2021). Transcending boundaries for collaborative patient care. Medical Teacher, 43(1), 27-31. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2020.1796947 

I just joined the network of IPR.Global because I expect that it will provide an opportunity to join forces in the field of research into learning for interprofessional and intraprofessional collaboration. International comparisons between the ways that facilitating learning of such collaboration has been organized will be valuable to develop the learning health system which is, as we have seen in the pandemic, more and more global. As a result of the partnership within IPR.Global, we might be able to acquire grants for collaborative research projects. Finally, I could represent IPR-Global toward the large group of medical education researchers in the Netherlands.

Interprofessional Research.Global Scholar Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights member research in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  

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IPR.Global Scholar Spotlight - Dr. Gayle Halas, University of Manitoba (Canada)

Hello! My name is Gayle Halas, RDH, MA, PhD. and I am the the inaugural Rady Chair in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada).  This locally supported research chair focuses on interprofessional collaborative practice research and scholarship; provides leadership in training, educating, and mentoring future leaders in interprofessional collaborative practice; and builds upon collaborative relationships between educational and practice systems.  

My current research is focused on team-based primary health care, and the communication and interactions that enable collaborative practice, particularly for addressing complex needs and care. Focusing on complex needs has resulted in collaborations with teams examining the older adult care continuum, team approaches for addressing substance use disorders, and transitions in care that are informed by stakeholder experiences and perspectives. My current work is exploring virtual visits in primary care, practice-level factors influencing interprofessional teamwork, and patient/public/caregiver experiences of team-based care. I have also been working with a team developing an interprofessional student-infused community health centre, targeting community needs for chronic disease and experiential learning for interprofessional practice building. 

I am also a provincial research lead in a pan-Canadian primary and integrated health care research network, launched in 2014 by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. This alliance of researchers, policy makers, clinicians and patient/public members aims to create evidence that can inform learning and practice systems as well be readily implemented for improved health services.  

In 2006, after a clinical career as a dental hygienist, I moved into a research role with the department of family medicine and, with some great mentorship, later appointed director of  research in the department.  I developed (perhaps even inherited!) an appreciation for the expertise of a team in providing patient-centred comprehensive primary care. In many ways, interprofessional practice was an assumption within the research that was conducted and the ways in which care was provided. 

What achievement are you most proud of in the area of interprofessional education and research?

Diverse partnerships. I am currently working with a breadth of key stakeholders, including members of the community with various lived experiences of homelessness, caregiving through to managing one’s own health and basic communication with health care providers.  I value the partnerships I have formed with policy-makers and realize the importance of situating research within the systems of care. I am fortunate to have dedicated researchers with whom I collaborate, from within my own academic institution as well as from other Canadian universities and extending to one international team.

What does IPR.Global mean to you? 

The experts in Interprofessional Education and Practice Research – and a focused community of practice!  The structures and processes supporting interprofessional collaboration are ripe for investigation and there is great potential to collaborate, compare and contrast what is working and why. 

And finally, should pineapple be on pizza? Yes or No?

Absolutely and especially if accompanied by Canadian bacon! 

Interprofessional Research.Global Scholar Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights member research in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  

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IPR.Global Scholar Spotlight - Dr. Noreen O'Leary, University of Limerick (Ireland)

Hello and thank you for the chance to meet the IPR.G community. My name is Noreen O’Leary and I am from Ireland. I am a qualified speech and language therapist and have been interested in health professions education since completing my own training. I have a Masters in Clinical Education. My thesis for this programme focused on the issue of identity and the difference between imagined professional identity as a student and reality as a graduate clinician.

I became involved in IPE in 2017, when I started my doctoral programme. My PhD focused on practice-based (placement) IPE for health professions such as speech and language therapy, human nutrition and dietetics, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. My research has mainly used qualitative methods and I am very interested in the contribution of qualitative research to addressing complex research question. I am also very interested in the role of theory in making sense of complex issues and understand how and why interventions or change do or do not work. 

During the course of my PhD I became aware that there was not a network for educators with an interest in IPE in Ireland. I established an IPE Special Interest Group with a colleague and am currently co-chair of this group which provides networking and professional development opportunities for members. I am also a member of the UK-based Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education. I am a member of the research working group and currently lead a sub-group looking at the impact of IPE on graduate practice. In May 2021 I became a member of the IPR.Global Partnership Development Working Group and am very much enjoying getting to know international colleagues.  IPR.Global offers a great opportunity to develop global networks and projects, drawing on knowledge and skills from all regions. I am excited to be part of IPE as it evolves and grows over the coming years, building on existing foundations and moving in new and innovative directions. 

More information on my research and publications can be found here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1148-2186 and I am on Twitter @OLeary_Noreen. 

Interprofessional Research.Global Scholar Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights member research in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  

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New Article in Journal of Interprofessional Care: "From uniprofessionality to interprofessionality: dual vs dueling identities in healthcare"

Dr. Hossein Khalili and Dr. Sheri L. Price authored a new article  "From uniprofessionality to interprofessionality: dual vs dueling identities in healthcare" in the Journal of Interprofessional Care. The transformation from uniprofessionality to interprofessionality in healthcare requires the application of interprofessional socialization not just at the individual level, but also at the professional and system levels. In this process of interprofessional socialization, we need to embrace the uniqueness of each profession while cultivating an interprofessional collaboration culture in the system (dual identity). In so doing, we can facilitate a shifting mind-set, culture, operations, and policies in healthcare to recognize and foster the contribution and accountability of each profession toward achieving the quadruple aim of better care, better health, better value, and better work experience. Healthcare systems are still viewed as siloed performances of single professions, rather than a collective functioning of interprofessional teams. Current policies, procedures, and regulations in healthcare education and practice seem to contribute to this context in which the various health and social care professions are set in opposition to one another. The historical, and still prominent, uniprofessional education and socialization practices position health and social care professions to view each as rivals and threats toward achieving their profession/al advancement and growth. 

Access article at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13561820.2021.1928029

Contact Dr. Hossein Khalili, Director, UW Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (UW CIPE) and President, InterprofessionalResearch.Global (IPR.Global): hkhalili@wisc.edu

IPR.Global Scholar Spotlight - Dr. Kaprea Johnson, Virginia Commonwealth University (USA)

Hello, I am Dr. Kaprea Johnson, and I am a tenured associate professor of Counselor Education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA USA. Within this area I focus on how interprofessional education and collaboration between graduate level mental health and allied health care students can improve patient outcomes. I am currently the Director of the Equity Research Lab, in which collaborative projects focus on equity issues in screening children and transitional aged youth for social inequities (i.e., discrimination, food and housing insecurity, income inequality), school/mental health counselor training needs to address social inequities, and interrogating systems that perpetuate inequities (i.e., education and healthcare systems). 

These innovative lines of research have helped our team of interprofessional collaborators in garnering over $5 million in grants. In addition, I have conducted over 100 presentations/ or trainings, have two books, several non-refereed practitioner focus publications, and 53 peer reviewed publications in national and international journals in counseling, education, and allied health. Additionally, I have a consulting and coaching practice that supports organizations and professionals interested in solutions for justice, diversity, healing, and equity.

Contact Dr. Kaprea Johnson: johnsonkf@vcu.edu

Interprofessional Research.Global Scholar Spotlight is a regular feature that highlights member research in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  

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Dr. John Gilbert Named as Acting Interim Director of the UBC Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies

The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia is pleased to announce that Professor Emeritus John Gilbert (Faculty of Medicine, College of Health Disciplines, School of Audiology & Speech Sciences) has been appointed as the Acting Interim Director of the Institute beginning June 1st, 2021.  

Dr. Gilbert has been a seminal leader in the education of health professionals in British Columbia, Canada and globally. His vision and leadership led to the concept of interprofessional education being developed as a central tenet of collaborative person-centred practice and care.  Dr. Gilbert is founding Principal & Professor Emeritus, College of Health Disciplines, University of British Columbia. He is a Senior Scholar, WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University; Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Dalhousie University. He holds the DR. TMA Pai Endowment Chair in Interprofessional Education & Practice, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, and is an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney. He is Founding Chair, The Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative and has given over 220 keynote presentations in the past 10 years.

Professor Gilbert has been an Adjunct Professor, University of Pittsburgh, and at the National University of Malaysia. He was Co-Chair of the WHO Study Group on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.  He was elected a Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, in 2008, was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in April 2012, and in October 2013 received the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to International Allied Health Development Award from the International Chief Health Professions Officers Organization.

Dr. Gilbert was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian award, in July 2011. He received the degree Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa from Dalhousie University in June 2016. He was the recipient of the Pioneer Award, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, USA, 2017 for his ground-breaking work in advancing the field of interprofessional practice and education.

The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies provides scholars with an exceptional opportunity to explore innovative research questions in a vibrant, interdisciplinary environment.  The search for a new Interim Director is ongoing, and we hope to announce a new appointment to that role in the coming months.

For more information on the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies go to: https://pwias.ubc.ca/