Creating Community and Sharing Best Practices Across Health Professions Programs: A Virtual Education Expo

Duke AHEAD (Academy for Health Professions Education & Academic Development) is an interprofessional education academy with over 950 members from the health professions programs at Duke University designed to offer faculty development, highlight education research and innovation and promotion and recognition of our health professions educators. Entering the second year of the pandemic, the academy continued to explore ways to achieve our mission remotely. An education expo was held to promote the ongoing work of our community of educaors. A call was forwarded to members to share information on innovating strategies and curriculums deployed during the pandemic and participants were selected to present 2-3 minute "elevator talks." After completion of all short programs, participants were asked to self select break out rooms led by speakers to learn more and explore ways to collaborate. Conversations focused on topics such as eliminating bias in clinical learning environments, implementing new technologies in teaching, virtual interviewing best practices when recruiting faculty, staff, and trainees, a new substance use disorder curriculum, a certificate program created for GME learners interested in a career as clinical educators, and more. Feedback following the expo was extremely positive and we will plan to hold future expos, likely in a hybrid in-person/Zoom format to appeal to more members. The expo was able to get groups of health professions educators together instead of our usual siloed professions, allowing collaboration and sharing ideas across professions to improve education.