From reflective inquiry to educational judgment: an orientation for context-responsive virtual interprofessional education

Virtual interprofessional education (VIPE) has become increasingly prevalent in health professions education, yet its implementation continues to reveal gaps between educational theory and instructional practice. Although multiple theories, curricular frameworks, and competency models inform interprofessional education, educators receive limited guidance for reasoning across these perspectives during learning design. I propose an orientation for educational judgment in which theoretical pluralism is enacted through reflective inquiry. The orientation begins with educational purpose, learner experience, educational context, and enduring attention to ethical commitments. Educational judgment provides an interpretive process through which complementary perspectives are intentionally selected and aligned. Reflexive Pedagogy, the Four-Dimensional Curriculum Framework, the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Core Competencies, and ethical commitments informed by the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative illustrate how this orientation may be operationalized within VIPE. Learner experience subsequently informs recursive reflective inquiry, allowing educational assumptions and design decisions to be evaluated as contexts evolve. I also consider emerging professional capacities that may strengthen the enactment of existing competency frameworks within virtual learning environments. Rather than prescribing a single implementation model, I offer a transferable conceptual orientation for coherent, context-responsive, and ethically grounded VIPE.