I’ll never forget the day in 2012 when I got “the call.” I was sitting still in the Twin Cities traffic when a text from a friend tipped me off that “rumor had it” the University of Minnesota was going to be named the home of the Coordinating Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. The notice of grant award was in my email by the time I got home.
Our guest blogger is Jill Thistlethwaite, MBBS, MMEd, PhD, FRCGP, FRACGP, a Fulbright scholar, health professions education consultant and family medicine physician from Australia (but originally from the UK). She is spending four months at the National Center exploring evaluation and research methods for IPECP.
We've heard that one of the biggest obstacles to progress in the interprofessional field is that health care educators, learners, caregivers and patients quite literally speak different languages. One of the goals of the Resource Exchange, a community-supported library of digital resources about interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP), is to collect related resources in the same online space for easy access -- and conversation.
National Center has announced that The University of Kansas will be the next site for its Nexus Innovations Incubator that tests new models and methods of integrating practice and education. The incubator, which now has sites in ten states, focuses on applied testing of interprofessional strategies with the potential to:
Improve the quality of experience for people, families, communities, and learners
Share responsibility for achieving health outcomes and improving education
Some time ago, Shelley Cohen Konrad asked me to visit the University of New England to present to a Macy Foundation-sponsored summit focused on the Nexus of integrated practice and education. Within a comprehensive curriculum plan, Shelley and her colleagues have created an innovative community-based IPE program and a range of opportunities for students to learn teamwork skills. By hosting the summit, they envision a closer relationship with Maine’s practice community to strengthen their already robust IPE program.
Through funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education will be hosting two international scholars in its Global Leadership Consultancies in Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research.
This month Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science officially dedicated the DeWitt C. Baldwin Institute for Interprofessional Education, honoring Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Scholar in Residence and a pioneer of interprofessional education, DeWitt C. Baldwin, MD.
National Center’s Data Repository is up, running and being loaded with information on interprofessional practice and education from the Nexus Innovation Incubator Network sites. To guide and advise on the Data Repository’s development, National Center has named a new advisory council to help create a system with a philosophy similar to “Turbo Tax” — where the data and structure allow questions to be asked and answered simply, easily, and accurately so answers can be turned into effective decisions.
It’s graduation season! In my role as associate vice president, I attend several ceremonies each year at the University of Minnesota. I have the opportunity to meet and learn from young health professionals who work every day to transform health care through integrating practice and education. It’s exciting and reassuring to see the next generation of health care leaders walk across the stages.
Next Tuesday, we'll talk with Scott Reeves, PhD, editor of the Journal of Interprofessional Care about his 2011 article, “
Start the Conversation
Every registered user can comment on website content.
Please login or register to comment