This Lightning Talk will describe how our institution uses a mock debate between various interprofessional health profession learners to explore the ethical considerations of whether an individual should be listed on a transplant registry. This unique format simulates discussions that often take place during ethics consults and challenges students to apply their individual professions’ codes of conduct to a realistic case while working as part of an interprofessional team. Students gain important experience collaborating with peers from other health professions and are challenged to consider the unique perspectives of their colleagues, thus preparing them for future interprofessional collaborative practice.
This mock debate is held within one of the four modules the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (UW CIPE) offers to health profession students – all aligned with the IPEC Core Competencies: Teams and Teamwork, Communication, Roles and Responsibilities, and Values and Ethics which help build foundations in interprofessional education and collaborative practice among our students.
In Spring 2025, UW CIPE coordinated an Interprofessional Values and Ethics Competency Module that was attended by 365 students from nine different health sciences programs. Students were given a case describing a 25-year-old man living with alcoholism and limited social support who was under consideration for liver transplant. The students were divided into two teams, one arguing in favor of listing the patient for transplant while the other argued against. Organizers ensured that a variety of health professions were represented on each team and guided the session through opening arguments, rebuttals, and then facilitated debriefs on the debate experience. In creating their arguments, students were directed to develop a rationale for their assigned stance, drawing on the IPEC Competencies. Prior to the session, each student completed pre-work related to their profession’s code of conduct.
Presenters will demonstrate how this debate format provides a unique opportunity for students to explore complex ethical problems with colleagues from other health professions. The format also encourages students to utilize specific skills including developing a coherent argument, arguing respectfully for a position, engaging with others from different professions, and collaborating effectively to arrive at a decision in a complex ethical case. The structure of the module and teaching strategies used to support interprofessional collaborative practice will be discussed. Quantitative and qualitative data will be shared to facilitate discussion on how such learning format cultivates skills as members of an interprofessional team.
