Promoting interdisciplinary collaboration: trainees addressing siloed medical education.

OBJECTIVE

Professional siloing within medical institutions has been identified as a problem in medical education, including resident training. The authors discuss how trainees from different disciplines can collaborate to address this problem.

METHOD

A group of trainees from psychiatry, developmental medicine, neurology, and education came together to develop a community of practice (CoP) to promote interdisciplinary collaboration.

RESULTS

A key outcome was the development of a seminar including speakers and attendees (N=20 to 35) from psychiatry, developmental medicine, neurology, and education. The CoP, developed in 2008, continues to grow and develop through their seminar, which fosters institution-wide interdisciplinary collaboration.

CONCLUSION

In an attempt to break down interdisciplinary silos, a CoP and interdisciplinary seminar were created. Trainee organizers benefited from an educational context that embodied adult-learning theory and promoted lifelong learning. The unique seminar that was created continues to promote a community sense of learning and practice. Outcome measures are currently being used to objectively measure these efforts.