The twinning of professional courses is a response to the growing complexities of situations and the nature of the problems arising from them. Chances are that most professionals once licensed and entrenched in their respective professions talk with each other most of the time rather than with people from other professions.

The twinning of professional courses started with those whose similarities were obvious and, hence, did not need a complicated process of finding slots of convergence in their respective curricula. One early example of this is the twinning between a degree in the science of jurisprudence and a degree in law prior to a bar examination to qualify as a full-fledged lawyer. It is, therefore, not uncommon to see a student graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence as well as a Bachelor of Laws. As an aside, it would be interesting to study whether there is a significant difference in the performance of lawyers with a degree in jurisprudence and those without in bar examinations as well as in professional practice.

The twinning of professional courses is a curricular development process by which the relationship of knowledge, skills, and values of two professions is examined with an end in view of discovering convergence points. In this manner, subjects from both professional courses are programmed such that the relationships become visible to the students as well as the professions.

As mentioned earlier, the beginning experiences in the twinning of professional courses are with degrees traditionally linked with each other. The emerging exciting trend is the twinning of what may be perceived as quite different professions.

Consider as an example the twinning of Architecture and Social Work as has been done by one university in the United States of America. Architecture as a profession designs buildings and other structures; Social Work as a profession is concerned with humanitarianism with a method. One deals with bricks and mortar, the other with lives of human beings, social institutions and society in general. In the professional twinning of these two courses, Architecture and Social Work, students of both are enriched, for they are able to see the oftentimes hidden connections between aesthetics in Architecture and the beauty of human interaction in Social Work, among other things, like the importance of a strong building foundation and what goes into it and the importance of the family as the basic foundation of any given society.

The transferability of professional concepts, principles and theories becomes apparent in both professions and each broadens the insights and perceptions of the other with the end in view of producing an architect with social sensibilities and a social worker with greater appreciation of the importance of building structures in the helping process.

One current phenomenon in the Philippines which deserves greater attention is the proliferation of medical doctors who are taking a nursing course for the economic advantages of employment abroad. This phenomenon is not as simple as it looks. These doctors generally feel that because of the traditional hierarchical links between doctors and nurses in professional practice, nursing education has very little or nothing to offer them.

This is a biased notion which has to be de-mystified before doctors can truly function within the professional ideals of the nursing profession. They have to learn to do what they generally expect nurses to do and in the manner and attitude the nursing profession upholds. Ordering the transfer of a patient from one bed to the other or prescribing an edema is not the same as doing the tasks themselves. It is, therefore, not possible for them to breeze through a nursing education program; there needs to be a shift in perspective, values, and attitudes. While it is true that from a medical point of view doctors know more about medical interventions and the like, the nursing profession is anchored on something else doctors have to appreciate and be committed to as professional nurses.

It becomes clear from these examples of twinning of professional courses that a teaching methodology anchored on a solid understanding and appreciation of each discipline is needed to make a difference in student outcomes.

In addition to curricular content integration and teaching methodology, twinning professional courses demands of students and professions a level of synergy that would ensure unity of purpose in general and specific objectives. The essence and intent of the twinning must become alive and visible to both teacher and learner. This synergy between professors and students in the academic departments engaged in the twinning process lays the foundation for the emergence of an academic twinning culture that can stand the test of actual practice of each profession involved.

The possibilities of twinning professional courses are unlimited. This is not just a degree-granting exercise. Rather it should make a difference in the quality of professionals an educational institution produces. A built-in assessment tool on the teachinglearning processes in twinning professional courses is the key to achieving a depth of training that is useful in practice. A pre-occupation with enhancing the quality of professional practice by providing students with courses from more than one academic department should be the ultimate goal.

When the chips are down, so to speak, there is a need for doctors who are also good time and motion managers. In building infrastructures and physical facilities, there is a need for engineers and architects who will blend design and aesthetics with the feelings and well-being of people who will use what they build. In nursing care, nutrition is a key competence. In Hotel and Restaurant Management, business ethics may spell the difference.

Double degrees and enhanced competencies – such is the goal of twinning professional courses.