One profession is dedicated to the health of the body. The other is focused on cultivating a healthy mind.

But doctors and teachers have a lot to learn from one another, academics at the University of Exeter believe.

The university has set up a new commission to discover what those involved in teacher training and those training doctors can learn from one another. The aim is that the two communities will be able to compare ideas on training methods.

The Exeter academics will investigate the evidence that the two different departments use to make judgments about the cost, value and quality of professional learning. They will also discuss the way that they make decisions while under pressure.

New training methods

The academics hope that their findings will inform government policy on the training of new teachers and doctors.

Commission members will hear evidence from academics from universities across Britain.

The inquiry, called ”Cost, Value and Quality in Professional Learning”, is being funded by the British Educational Research Association.

The aim is that, in the long term, the commission will lead to the formation of a body which will allow experts from the respective professions to continue to develop ideas together.

Vivienne Baumfield, who is leading the teacher-education side of the inquiry, said that there is much to be gained from conversations across the subjects.

“We want to encourage dialogue involving everyone engaged in the education of teachers, doctors and health workers, to share ideas and break down the silos in which each profession is currently working,” she said.

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