Cho Wai-Kwan, Cora, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
As a speech therapist collaborating with an occupational therapist, I once encountered a client experiencing deteriorating speech and limited motor skills, necessitating alternative modes of communication. The occupational therapist, following standard procedures, reached out to a supplier for a professional eye-tracking communication device, which came with a hefty price tag of HK$60,000 and a lengthy procurement process. In contrast, I discovered a HK$2,000 eye tracker designed for computer gaming, which I adapted for her use as an alternative communication device. This solution allowed her to reconnect with friends and family through WhatsApp messaging, using her eye gaze to control the computer. Since then, she has found joy in communicating with both her loved ones and our staff.
My example highlights adaptive expertise: innovative problem-solving beyond established protocols, applying knowledge in novel contexts (Cutrer et al., 2018). My decision to explore a gaming device exemplifies this innovative problem-solving.
Think about the constantly evolving healthcare industry today. Driven by rapid technological advancements, increasing workloads, and dynamic clinical situations, the healthcare industry demands adaptability. The COVID-19 pandemic vividly demonstrated this as professionals innovated with new strategies and thought on their feet to manage unprecedented challenges. As a clinical educator in the speech and language pathology program of HKU, I believe developing adaptive expertise is essential in health professions education in order to build a more effective healthcare workforce.
Developing adaptive expertise isn’t easy. It requires student clinicians to master not only the practical skills but also the principles behind operational procedures. Furthermore, they need to be metacognitive: able to recognize when standard protocols don’t fit the clinical problems at hand and innovate ways to bridge that gap (Carbonell et al., 2014). This journey takes time, effort, and resilience. The ability to persist through challenges and maintain a positive mindset, also known as grit, is crucial.
Grit plays an important role in developing adaptive expertise. Grit is defined by Duckworth et al. (2007) as perseverance toward long-term goals despite challenges, playing an important role in developing adaptive expertise. It also embodies adaptability within triarchic models of grit (Datu et al., 2017). This combination of determination and flexibility is crucial in fostering the innovative thinking required for adaptive expertise.
According to the Master Adaptive Learner Model proposed by Cutrer et al. (2017), developing adaptive expertise involves a four-phase process: planning, learning, assessing, and adjusting. Individuals with higher levels of grit may be more engaged during the learning and assessing phases. They may be more persistent in gathering information, immersing themselves in standard protocols and the underlying principles, and actively seek feedback from peers or supervisors. During the assessing phase, gritty individuals are more willing to experiment with the knowledge they have acquired. They adapt and evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment approaches, leading to innovative solutions for patient care. Despite the possible connection between grit and adaptive expertise, current literature mostly addresses this relationship at a conceptual level. This presents a valuable opportunity for further research to explore these qualities empirically.
For these reasons, the narrative of healthcare education must evolve. By intentionally cultivating grit and nurturing adaptive expertise in our student clinicians, we are not merely preparing them for graduation; we are equipping them to be the resilient, innovative leaders our future healthcare landscape desperately needs. Only then can we truly empower the next generation of healthcare heroes to deliver compassionate, cutting-edge care, transforming challenges into opportunities and profoundly improving lives, just as my client’s eye-tracker did.
References
Carbonell, K. B., Stalmeijer, R. E., Könings, K. D., Segers, M., & Merriënboer, J. J. G. van. (2014). How experts deal with novel situations: A review of adaptive expertise. Educational Research Review, 12, 14-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.03.001
Cutrer, W. B., Atkinson, H. G., Friedman, E., Deiorio, N. M., Gruppen, L. D., Dekhtyar, M., & Pusic, M. (2018). Exploring the characteristics and context that allow master adaptive learners to thrive. Medical Teacher, 40(8), 791. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2018.1484560
Cutrer, W. B., Miller, B., Pusic, M. V., Mejicano, G., Mangrulkar, R. S., Gruppen, L. D., Hawkins, R. E., Skochelak, S. E., & Moore Jr, D. E. (2017). Fostering the development of master adaptive learners: a conceptual model to guide skill acquisition in medical education. Academic Medicine, 92(1), 70-75.
Datu, J. A. D., Yuen, M., & Chen, G. (2017). Development and validation of the Triarchic Model of Grit Scale (TMGS): Evidence from Filipino undergraduate students. Personality and Individual Differences, 114, 198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.012
Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
