Leadership in IPE calls for creating a culture of collaboration among faculty, students, universities and communities. We must model what we teach. To advance this spirit of leadership and culture in IPE at UB, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from one of the best. UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP) is proud to host a day of events April 5th with Dr. Ivy Oandasan, an international leader in IPE, and SPHHP’s 3rd Annual Glen E. Gresham Visiting Professor.

We are honored to have Dr. Oandasan, our esteemed colleague from the University of Toronto, share her experiences in leading development and implementation of IPE curricula. UB’s Office of IPE was modeled after the University of Toronto’s Office for IPE where Dr. Oandasan was the inaugural Director. In Toronto, she developed the organizational structures and strategies to implement an IPE curriculum, bridging gaps in collaborative practice across ten of the University’s healthcare programs. In October 2007, Dr. Oandasan was named the provincial co-lead for the Ministry of Health’s Health Force Ontario Interprofessional Care Project – Advancing a Blueprint for Action for Interprofessional Care.

On April 5th, Dr. Oandasan will talk about “Being on the Cutting Edge – Advancing Interprofessional Education for Quality Care” through conversations with UB faculty and students, and she will share her experiences in advancing an IPE spirit and culture within and across universities, communities, and nations.

We are excited to learn from her successes and challenges in leading an IPE initiative as we strive to establish a culture that links healthcare practice across silos. We will share her pearls of wisdom through audio and video clips next week.

If you have questions for Dr. Oandasan, post them here. We’ll share your questions and post her replies.

What are your reflections on the importance of culture in IPE?

This guest blog was written by Paul Wietig, Assistant Vice President for Interprofessional Education, Academic Health Center, University at Buffalo.