Transdisciplinarity in the education of health professionals: the ESSUA experience

Abstract

Transdisciplinary is, currently, one of the major trends in higher education in order to follow the scientific, technological, social, cultural and ethical evolution. Transdisciplinary is a fundamental concept in the innovative approach implemented by the Health School of the University of Aveiro (Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro - ESSUA) in the education of future health professionals (nurses, therapists and diagnostic radiographers). The Health Sciences Program established in the University of Aveiro in 1999, and based on the contributions of experts of various fields, proposed the creation of the ESSUA for the polytechnical degrees, and a University Department, mainly for graduate and post-graduate studies, the future Health Sciences Department. The ESSUA began its activities one year ago. This paper will describe the efforts to implement the underlying philosophy of this school, which promotes the organisation of the contents by modules, the interaction with the health units and the community, and emphasizes interpersonal relationships and team work. The methodology used to develop the courses consisted of: 1) identification of themes of interest (with special relevance for the innovative aspects in each area); 2) discussion of the syllabus of each module involving people from different scientific areas (Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Sciences); and 3) interaction with peer reviewers. Transdisciplinary has been implemented in several ways: 1) faculty staff have being encouraged to cross professional boundaries and to share functions and roles; 2) a great amount of informal meetings have being conducted in parallel with the pedagogical activities; 3) workshops have being organised to perform an in-depth analysis of the overlapping and differentiation of the contents of all modules, and corresponding teaching methodologies and evaluation strategies; 4) a systematic evaluation of the courses (including both the theoretical and clinical components) has being conducted; 5) the Internet has being used as a means of interaction between professors, students and all the staff involved; 6) a reference model for clinical training has being the subject of a comprehensive preparation.