Empathy for the health professional in online asynchronous graduate education: an initial design thinking approach to program improvement

Abstract

Introduction: Health professionals engage in continuous professional development through higher education. As traditional university learning environments pose a challenge to working health professionals, distance education allows these learners to engage in higher education in alignment with their learning preferences and needs. Literature on health professional learners’ experiences in online learning environments report findings at the course level and/or focus on a singular aspect of the online learning experience. Objectives: In this initial study, we aim to understand the health professional learner’s perspective in a distance graduate education program and make normative recommendations to improve the health professional learner experience in an online environment. Methods: Within the context of the Empathy arm of Deitte and Omary’s (Deitte and Omary in Acad Radiol 26:1417–1420, 2019) Design Thinking methodology, we conducted a two-part sequential explanatory qualitative study. Part 1 involved focus groups with stakeholders (n = 14) of the Health Science Education (HSED) Graduate Program at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada). Part 2 entailed semi-structured interviews with learners (n = 11) in the HSED Program. An unconstrained approach to directed content analysis was used to analyze the data and construct themes. Results: An overarching theme of ‘the learner experience is an autonomous-supportive online learning environment’ was constructed, with two sub-themes: learner autonomy and building community. Conclusion: Learners valued an autonomous-supportive online learning environment wherein they could tailor their educational experiences while also fostering a sense of community in the online environment. Future research should consider how a balance between maintaining autonomy in pacing learning and building community can be achieved to enhance the health professional learner experience in an online environment.