Interprofessional learning in an online programme : a SWOT analysis

Abstract

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has forced educators individually, and educational institutions collectively, to rethink their teaching and assessment modes. Several universities have seen a sudden shift from traditional face to face teaching and learning to online approaches. The aim of this case study is to share the authors' experience in the design, coordination, delivery and evaluation of a fully online post-registration programme. Now in its twelfth year, this is an interdisciplinary course and caters for qualified health professionals from various sectors and with various levels of experience seeking a baccalaureate qualification. The paper uses the SWOT analysis technique to highlight the programme's strengths and weaknesses, and to reflect on its opportunities for, and threats to, further development. In so doing, it discusses some considerations underpinning the shift from a face to face to an online, mainly asynchronous, mode of delivery for this post-registration academic top-up programme. The paper explains the challenges encountered and the lessons learnt through feedback from the students, stakeholders, and external examiners. The good practices that were developed as a result, including strategies to foster a community of learners, may be of interest to, and applied by, educators in other settings.