The GREAT Debate: A Team Presentation Event to Emphasize Interprofessional Education, Collaboration, Effective Communication

Each year, the Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) hosts the Graduate Research Education and Technology (GREAT) Symposium, which provides graduate students and postdoctoral trainees the opportunity to present individual research and engage with the campus community. In addition to the traditional oral and poster presentations, the 2021 GREAT Symposium was expanded to include an all new team presentation event, the GREAT Debate. Two teams comprised of students from different disciplines and colleges across OUHSC worked together to formulate and defend an argument in support of or against a select topic with significance in the biomedical research and healthcare arena. Specifically, each team consisted of graduate and professional students from OUHSC's College of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Allied Health, Public Health, and the Graduate College. To prepare for the Debate, each team had to delegate roles and responsibilities before working together to formulate a clear and well supported argument. In preparation for this event, the teams met to share research, talking points, and strategies.

In working to develop their team's argument and defense, team members gained a respective understanding of each other's disciplines and focus areas and also shared their professional perspective pertaining to the debate topic: "The English COVID Vaccine Challenge Trial is an Ideal Model for all Vaccine Trials". This event emphasized the importance of Interprofessional education, collaboration, and effective communication. The GREAT Debate was a premiere event at this year's all virtual Symposium. There were ~100 people in attendance from across campus and the audience was very engaged and interactive throughout, utilizing the Zoom chat and asking a number of questions during the open Q&A session. Effective communication was imperative in order to win the support of the audience who ultimately voted to determine the winning team.