3rd International Congress of Health Workforce Education and Research

We are very pleased to announce the details of the 3rd International Congress of Health Workforce Education and Research. The Congress will take place in Barcelona, Spain between Wednesday 2nd and Friday 4th September 2020. The International Network for Health Workforce Education holds its International Congress once a year and is the prime meeting place for international health workforce educators, researchers and policy makers.

There is now significant evidence to indicate that effective interprofessional education is an innovative strategy that enables effective collaborative practice and improves healthcare systems. The 2010 WHO Framework states that “after almost 50 years of enquiry, the World Health Organization and its partners acknowledge that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that effective interprofessional education enables effective collaborative practice”. The development of strong interprofessional teams to aid collaborative working practices must be imbedded thought out the working career of health professionals. This continual reinforcement of Interprofessional skills will allow the health workforce to deal with an increasingly changing healthcare landscape.  

It is clear that global healthcare systems face increased demand for health services due to ageing populations, rising patient and workforce mobility, and a diminishing supply of health workers caused by retirement rates that surpass recruitment rates. Interprofessional education, along with other transversal or soft skills, is a necessary and important step in preparing the health workforce for these difficulties and challenges that are faced by both by newly qualified and establish practitioners. For policy makers the benefits of interprofessional education and collaborative practice can be seen in the evidence that implementation contributes to the transformation of health care, enhance patient care and thus control of costs.