Interprofessional students' experiences of specialization education on the design and development of digital health and social care services

The increasing digitalization of working methods require new competencies from health and social care professionals. In addition, the development of person-centered digital health and social services call for interprofessional expertise and a social community with a unified language and culture. This study analyzes how the renewed model of specialization education enables professionals' monological, dialogical, and trialogical learning. Adopting a qualitative approach and an interpretive descriptive research method, the study aimed to comprehensively interpret the quality, characteristics, and meanings of trialogical learning in online specialization education. The study focused on 10 two-credit specialization courses delivered collaboratively by 14 universities of applied sciences in Finland and monitored students' reflections on their learning over time. The findings indicate students' perceptions of their learning activities in specialization education and the occurrence of trialogical learning during the courses. Students described that interactive digital learning tools and webinars supported collaborative learning and the development of new skills and understanding. Students also learned to use new digital platforms and had the confidence to share their views and learn through these platforms. The study concludes that this learning process enables students to change their values and attitudes and apply them to create new healthcare and social care services.