MINNEAPOLIS – East Tennessee State University has joined the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education's Nexus Innovation Network.

As a member of the Nexus Innovation Network, ETSU is now one of 71 sites in 35 states to test new models and methods of integrating health care practice and education. Each of the 97 projects in the Nexus Innovation Network focuses on the real-world testing of interprofessional strategies with the potential to improve the experience, outcomes and costs of health care.

"We are excited to have East Tennessee State University join our growing Nexus Innovation Network,” said Barbara Brandt, PhD, director, National Center. “The work they’ll be doing to implement and assess an IPE curriculum is going to provide important data for future training. We’re excited to partner with the faculty and staff as we work to change how people learn about and experience health care.”

Interprofessional health care is widely acknowledged as the next major advance in the improvement of health care delivery. Interprofessional care occurs when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds blend their expertise to provide comprehensive health services to patients, families and communities.

The concept is not new, especially at ETSU, but health systems, governmental agencies and educational institutions are beginning to look at how to fully implement it in practice and measure its outcomes on patient care. Introducing and mastering interprofessionalism is a challenge that necessitates careful planning and evaluation.

“The Nexus Innovation Network includes a data repository that allows the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education to make generalizable determinations based on what individual member institutions are doing,” said Dr. Jodi Polaha, an associate professor in ETSU’s Quillen College of Medicine and one of the institution’s leading forces in interprofessional education and practice. “We are one of its network incubator sites and we help to provide that data. It shows that ETSU is really trying to make a contribution to our national understanding of what works when it comes to interprofessional education and practice.”

In joining the Nexus Innovation Network, ETSU will facilitate interprofessional research throughout clinical sites and learning environments and institutions. For the initial research project as part of the network, Polaha is conducting a global study of ETSU student outcomes as a result of getting specialized training in interprofessional education.

The project executes pre- and post-testing for those students taking part in the interprofessional education cohort pilot program at ETSU and compares the results with results from those students who are not getting as concentrated of a dosage of interprofessional education.

“We suspect the cohorts results will be better than the minimal dose students are getting,” Polaha said. “We hope it will show these students have not just improved attitudes and beliefs about interprofessional education and practice, but also improved knowledge.”

The pre-test data was collected when the cohort of beginner students came in fall 2016. Post-test data will take place as the cohort exits the pilot program in spring 2018.

The data collected will be measured against data from other Nexus Innovation Network sites and national and federal databases. Scientists at the National Center will then analyze the information and share key findings through reports and peer-reviewed publications, increasing evidence on the effectiveness, and return on the investment, of interprofessional models in developing the skills necessary for effective and efficient health care.

“The data will allow ETSU to have a strong quality improvement process as it expands its interprofessional education efforts,” said Dr. Wilsie Bishop, vice president for Health Affairs at ETSU. “If the goal is always to have our students graduate prepared for the workforce, then this is what we need to be doing.”

Learn more about the work occurring at ETSU and other Nexus Innovation Network sites at nexusipe.org/advancing.