Empathy for the Health Professional in Online Asynchronous Graduate Education: A Design Thinking Approach to Program Improvement

Abstract Introduction: Health professionals engage in continuous professional development through higher education. As traditional university learning environments pose a challenge, distance education allows health professionals to engage higher education in alignment with their learning preferences and needs. Literature on health professional learners’ experiences in online learning environments report findings at the course level and/or focus on a singular aspect of the online learning experience. In this study, we aim to understand the health professional learner’s perspective in a distance graduate education program and make normative recommendations to improve the learner experience.Objective(s): To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities health professional learners experience in an online asynchronous graduate program.Methods: Within the context of the Empathy arm of Deitte and Omary’s (2019) Design Thinking methodology, we completed a two-part sequential explanatory qualitative study involving students and stakeholders of the Health Science Education Graduate Program at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada). An unconstrained approach to descriptive content analysis was used to analyze the data and construct themes relating to the learner experience in an online graduate program.Results: An overarching theme of ‘the learner experience is an autonomous-supportive online learning environment’ was constructed, with two sub-themes: learner autonomy and building community.Conclusion: Learners valued an autonomous-supportive online learning environment wherein they could tailor their educational experiences while also fostering a sense of community. Future research should consider how a balance between maintaining learner freedom and building community can be achieved to enhance the health professional learner experience in an online learning environment.