Beyond the Lecture: Interactive Strategies in the Health Profession Education Curriculum

Abstract

According to theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010), of the top 20 occupations with the fastest growth, half are in healthcare. The rapid growth in healthcare is due in part by the aging population and the overall longer life expectancies. As this rapid increase in the demand for healthcare services occurs, the baby-boomers who receive credit for the increased demand will retire, including those currently working in healthcare, increasing the demands on the remaining healthcare workers. Technological advances increase the longevity of patients, but also the medical complexity associated with this longevity. Not only do health care professionals need to identify and manage the long term care or highly acute care of the patient, but an assessment and management of the life-saving technology the patients are utilizing and the navigation of the information management systems must also occur simultaneously (Institute of Medicine IOM, 2010).