“Developing Multiprofessional Health Educators of the Future” was a radical new conference that brought together healthcare workers from across the range of professional backgrounds, levels of experience and educational modalities. It considered multiple good practice initiatives for healthcare educators, trainees and students.
The conference was planned jointly between the London and the South East Local Education and TrainingBoards (LETB) and was held on 7 July 2015 at the Kia Oval conference centre in London. The organising committee included a healthcare scientist, medical education fellows, nurse educators, Shared Service staff and a HEKSS programme manager. All 300 places were fully booked within weeks of registration opening.
Professor Ian Cumming, Chief Executive of Health Education England, opened the conference. He strongly reiterated the commitment to more multiprofessional training in the future. This was followed by an inspiring talk by Laura Sherlock, a patient educator from King’s College London, who highlighted the vital role that patients play in clinical education and the need for more meaningful engagement to maximise this resource. Professor Scott Reeves rounded off the day with a forward-looking summary of the state of interprofessional education and promising avenues for further exploration.
Alongside these exciting keynotes were over ten parallel workshops, face-paced ‘laser-coaching’ and a poster display of a range of successful education projects conducted by delegates. The very best abstract submissions were selected to present to the whole conference audience, who then voted for their favourite to receive a prize.
The day was a great success and demonstrated the level of enthusiasm for such events that bring together a wide range of professionals to share their passion for clinical education in all its multifarious forms. It is hoped that this will become a regular feature of the clinical education calendar.