Nexus Summit 2023 – One for the Record Books!
We have wrapped up Nexus Summit 2023, and the results are in – based upon feedback, this year’s virtual meeting was the most successful to date – in numbers and momentum for IPE!
More than 500 colleagues led peer-reviewed and invited presentations and posters and participated in learning about, with, and from each other over five days packed with content, social and wellness activities, and rich conversations. Particularly gratifying is more students than ever participated this year, and the quality of their posters and presentations was extraordinary. One faculty person engaged her entire class in the Summit as part of their IPE curriculum, and students’ minds were opened to the depth and breadth of our field and the potential for impact on outcomes. Importantly, we had more engagement from clinicians, practitioners, and health systems leaders than ever before.
The momentum is evidenced by the 15 Nexus teams from across the US and even beyond, who joined us for our first-ever Moving to Action Launch Party. These teams are committed to engaging in a robust learning community over the coming year, as we support each other working in the Nexus of Practice and Education to make measurable progress in achieving health and learning outcomes that matter.
Moving to Action Launch Party Teams
- BuckIPE - The Ohio State University Office of IPE
- Children's Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics
- Florida Atlantic University Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice
- Medical University of South Carolina Interprofessional Education
- Nova Southeastern University Center for IPEP
- Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences School of Dental Medicine and Northwest Interprofessional Health Collaborative - Interprofessional Dental Medicine Integration Team
- University of Kentucky - Integrating Humanities Into Health Professions Curricula: An Interprofessional Approach
- University of Minnesota Center for Interprofessional Health
- University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Department of IPE
- University of Nottingham & Maine College of Health Professions - SPACe 2 Collaborate
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and OU Health- Oklahoma Interprofessional Programs
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center Interprofessional Education
- Virginia Commonwealth University - VCU Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care - Defining Priorities for Our Next Five Years
- Washington University Medical Center
- Western University of Health Sciences - WesternU IPE
Our team intentionally designed the Summit using our knowledge-based approach to build upon what we have learned over the last decade with our many collaborators. We have reported our current thinking about the field and what is needed in the future in our 10-Year Anniversary National Center Special Issue of the Journal of Interprofessional Care. We are always learning with you in supporting and challenging conversations to make us stronger and more relevant. This year’s Nexus Summit was no different. The Nexus Summit 2023 design provided opportunities to take stock of where we are today as well as uncomfortable programming to lead to wake-up calls for making sense and busting myths. Our rich lessons learned point to directions of where we need to go.
Here are our quick reflections on what we are thinking after Nexus Summit 2023:
- Strong Growth in Numbers and Interest in Higher Education. IPE is increasingly recognized as important for the education of future students. We have much to celebrate in nurturing health professionals-in-training for roles as future members of health teams.
- Health System and Clinical Leaders Interest and Engagement. The Summit confirmed what we have recently experienced: leaders on the practice side of the Nexus sense there is something to explore in interprofessional collaboration expertise. However, what the IPE field has to offer today must be adapted to stay nimble to respond to the very real challenges such as financial and workforce that both our health systems and educational institutions face.
- Ignore our Past at our Peril. While we have introduced the historical background of IPE, many commented that they do not want to hear about what happened 100, or even 10, years ago. Our conclusion is that we are not doing a good job in introducing the relevance for today. A professional, scholarly field such as the individual health professions rather than a technical field knows its history and where it has been to inform its future. We believe IPE is at a cusp, or fork in the road, in the need to codify the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values for its future.
- Don’t Let Education Get in the Way of Learning. Two years ago, our colleague, Gail Jensen, gifted us this phrase that is a Nexus raison d’etre. We saw many instances at the Nexus Summit where IPE Champion’s knowledge is needed in the healthcare workplace. We had rich discussion about what standardization means and doesn’t mean. However, we continue to observe that we need to broaden our perspective about learning approaches, to be relevant to both health-professionals-in training and practicing professionals and leaders.
- The future of IPE Scholarship. Each of these domains calls out for new and expanded scholarship in IPE, using the rich array of clinical, learning and social science theory and research that has not commonly been applied to interprofessional practice and education. New partnerships with educators, social scientists, communities and practice partners provide rich opportunities to enable ongoing progress in achieving the promise of interprofessional practice and education.
Learning Opportunities
We invite you to join us on Thursday October 19, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm when we will continue to reflect on what we are learning for an ever brighter future for our field. Register here.
We also invite you to explore our NexusIPE™ Leadership Academy, where we have recently opened applications for our Senior and Emerging Leaders Forum. These forums are designed to build upon your own experiences while applying new knowledge-based leadership skills for transformative change within your local Nexus of Practice and Education. Learn more here.
