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. 2022 Aug 25;8(3):e001377.
doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001377. eCollection 2022.

Is healthcare a team sport? Widening our lens on interprofessional collaboration and education in sport and exercise medicine

Gert Ulrich  1 , Justin Carrard  2 , Claudio R Nigg  3 , Daniel Erlacher  4 , Anthony Paul Breitbach  5
Affiliations

Is healthcare a team sport? Widening our lens on interprofessional collaboration and education in sport and exercise medicine

Gert Ulrich et al. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. .

Abstract

Effective interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has great potential to improve healthcare delivery. Therefore, students and trainees in healthcare professions should be prepared for a collaborative workforce through interprofessional education (IPE) settings. However, IPC and IPE are rarely addressed in sport and exercise medicine (SEM), although the field significantly impacts the healthcare system. Hence, we conducted a webinar to promote IPC and IPE in the Swiss SEM community. The lessons resulting from the webinar were: (1) professions involved in SEM should have opportunities to learn, with, from and about other professions in healthcare to achieve mutual respect and understanding; (2) IPC and IPE in SEM may raise awareness, value and recognition of the contributions by exercise scientists in healthcare; (3) IPC and IPE may consider collaborating with a variety of professions not traditionally integrated into healthcare but involved in broader public health and physical activity promotion. In summary, sports and exercise professions should embrace interprofessional approaches to better realise their contribution to healthcare and public health.

Keywords: Education; Exercise; Public health; Sports & exercise medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of postulated effects of interprofessional collaboration and education.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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