FRESH: Future-REady Skills for Healthcare

About

This course focuses on key themes such as innovation, rehabilitation, technology, clinical reasoning, motivational interviewing, positive health, intercultural competence, mental and social health, and design. These topics are explored within a multidisciplinary working environment, fostering collaboration and diverse perspectives. Feedback from the class of 2024 highlights a high level of student satisfaction with the course. The course is organized by the Institute for Nursing Studies, UASU Utrecht.

Healthcare professionals, including nurses, physiotherapists, and others, face the challenges of a rapidly changing world. From an international perspective, we observe both global similarities and local differences in healthcare systems. The increasing prevalence of complex diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and chronic pain, coupled with a shrinking healthcare workforce, underscores the urgent need to transform healthcare systems. To meet these demands, healthcare professionals must play an active role in shaping a future-ready healthcare landscape.

In this interdisciplinary and intercultural environment, students are encouraged to reflect on their own cultural values and beliefs while exploring their roles as healthcare professionals. The course emphasizes the development of future-proof skills through interactive learning, including visits to healthcare institutions and technology labs. Students will become familiar with the latest technologies and be challenged to think critically, innovate, and collaborate in designing solutions to meet the evolving needs of healthcare.

Course leader

Dr. Thijs van Houwelingen, RN

Course aim

-Equipping students with appropriate competencies for the healthcare challenges in the 21st century, using new technologies and new biological, mental and social perspectives.

Fee info