Global health is by definition and necessity a collaborative field; one that requires diverse professionals to address the clinical, biological, social, and political factors that contribute to the health of communities, regions, and nations. While much work has been done in recent years to define the field of global health and set forth discipline-specific global health competencies, less has been done in the area of interprofessional global health education. This paper documents the results of a roundtable that was convened to (...) study the need for an interprofessional team skills competency domain for global health students. The paper sets forth a preliminary set of team competencies based on existing scholarship and the results of the roundtable. Once an agreed upon set of competencies is defined, a valuable next task will be development of a model curriculum to teach team skills to students in global health. The preliminary competencies offered in this paper represent a good first step toward ensuring that global health professionals are able to collaborate effectively to make the field as cohesive and collaborative as the mighty task of global health demands. (shrink)

Global health is by definition and necessity a collaborative field; one that requires diverse professionals to address the clinical, biological, social, and political factors that contribute to the health of communities, regions, and nations. For universities with global health programs, the interprofessional nature of global health presents both vast opportunities and distinct challenges. In addition to helping students develop mastery within their chosen fields, universities must also ensure that students learn to collaborate with other professionals to address complex global health (...) needs. While much work has been done in recent years to define the field of global health and set forth discipline-specific competencies, less has been done in the area of interdisciplinary or interprofessional global health education. This gap in scholarship is troubling given the clear and well-acknowledged need for professionals across a broad spectrum of disciplines to take part in global health initiatives. (shrink)