UNE's Shelley Cohen Konrad presents at international interprofessional education conference in Spanish enclave

Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, director for the Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice at the University of New England and a professor in the School of Social Work, recently gave two presentations at the 2024 International Health Workforce Education and Research Congress, held in the Catalonia region of Spain in late June. 

The conference was held June 26 to 27 in Sant Cugat del Vallès, a northern suburb of Barcelona, and promoted interprofessional collaboration and critical understanding of contemporary research in fields of health workforce education, training, and development.

Cohen Konrad first presented “Establishing Psychological Safety and Addressing Power Dynamics: Cornerstones of Successful Interprofessional Practice and Education,” which offered the audience key skills to build collaborative learning environments conducive to respectful, equitable, and candid exchange. 

Cohen Konrad was also a panelist along with Anthony Breitbach, Ph.D., ATC, FASAHP, FNAP, professor and director of Interprofessional Education at Saint Louis University; Hossein Khalili, Ph.D., FNAP, dean of Academic Administration at Winston-Salem State University; and Melissa Owens, Ed.D., director of Nurse Education at University of York, United Kingdom. 

All four panelists are members of the Global Network for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice and co-authors on the publication “Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in Post-COVID Healthcare Education and Practice,” which discusses the increasing importance of interprofessional education in the health professions amid today’s ongoing health crises.

The group’s lively discussion about the current state of global health and social care included audience members from as far as Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. 

“It was enlightening to spend time with international colleagues and learn how they are successfully addressing common challenges with interprofessional education and practice across such diverse health care delivery systems,” Cohen Konrad said, noting that the Congress included social time for networking and a guided tour of the ninth-century Monastery of Sant Cugat. “It was lovely to meet friends in real time whom I only knew through Zoom and make new friends across the globe with hopes for future collaborations.”