Centring Human Connections in the Education of Health Professionals

Many of today’s learning environments are dominated by technology or procedure-driven approaches that leave learners feeling alone and disconnected. The authors of Centring Human Connections in the Education of Health Professionals argue that educational processes in the health disciplines should model, integrate, and celebrate human connections because it is these connections that will foster the development of competent and caring health professionals.

Centring Human Connections in the Education of Health Professionals equips educators working in clinical, classroom, and online settings with a variety of teaching strategies that facilitate essential human connections. Included is an overview of the educational theory that grounds the authors’ thinking, enabling the educators who employ the strategies included in the book to assess their fit within curriculum requirements and personal teaching philosophies and understand how and why they work.

About the Author

Sherri Melrose facilitates graduate courses in the education of health professionals at Athabasca University. She has published widely on educating health professionals and is a winner of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Award for Excellence in Nursing Education. Caroline Park is professor emeritus in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. She retired in 2019 after twenty years with the Masters of Nursing/Masters of Health Studies programs. She has practiced and taught in a variety of healthcare settings and leads research projects related to technology enhanced clinical education and mobile learning. Beth Perry is an established author and the principal investigator of a SSHRC-funded study exploring artistic pedagogical technologies. Beth is also a winner of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Award for Excellence in Nursing Education.

Table of Contents

1. Foreword / Terry Anderson
2. Chapter 1: Celebrating Human Connections in Teaching
3. Chapter 2: Valuing Cultural Influences
4. Chapter 3: Enhancing Relationships Among Educators and Learners
5. Chapter 4: Infusing Curricula with Humanity
6. Chapter 5: Maintaining Humanity in Technology-Rich Environments
7. Chapter 6: Maintaining Motivation in Teaching

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.