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Wall, C. L. (2018). Preparing BSN students for engagement in interprofessional learning. Nursing Education Perspectives, 39(6), 366-367. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000315

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Full Text/Open Access Article: This paper describes the Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE), a seven-site collaborative project funded by the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) within the Veterans Health Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The CoEPCE was established to fulfill OAA's vision of large-scale transformation of the clinical learning environment within VA primary care settings.

Abstract: Arizona Nexus is a pioneer Nexus Innovations Network (NIN) member with the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (National Center) and a statewide collaborative with members from five public and private universities and six health care organizations in Arizona. The Arizona Nexus grew from the request of interprofessional champions at two public state universities, Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Arizona (UA), to be part of the University of Minnesota’s application and vision for the first National Center cohort.

Traditional workforce planning methodologies and interprofessional education (IPE) approaches will not address the significant challenges facing health care systems seeking to integrate services, eliminate waste and meet rising demand within fixed or shrinking budgets. This article describes how New Zealand’s workforce planning approach could be used as a model by other countries to move toward needs-based, interprofessional workforce planning.

Abstract

Many universities in the United States are investing in classrooms and campuses designed to increase collaboration and teamwork among the health professions. To date, we know little about whether these learning spaces are having the intended impact on student performance. Recent advances in the identification of interprofessional teamwork competencies provide a much-needed step toward a defined outcome metric. Rigorous study of the relationship between design and student competence in collaboration also requires clear specification of design concepts and development of testable frameworks.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is now recognized as an important initiative to prepare the next generation of health providers. Although IPE has been embraced by many institutions, faculty development still remains an issue. In this manuscript, the authors share their story of one attempt to educate a variety of health science faculty on IPE in what was perceived as an approachable venue. The story of its epic failure and lessons learned will be shared to help others avoid similar pitfalls.

In July 2018, over 400 health professionals gathered in Minneapolis, MN to attend the Nexus Summit, “Creating Results: Interprofessional Vision to Action.” In her plenary address, Barbara Brandt, Director of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, spoke about the seismic shifts occurring in health care and health professions education and the importance of asking the right questions. This editorial provides a synopsis of Brandt’s address and raises questions for  nurse educators.

Producing the best evidence to show educational outcomes, such as competency achievement and credentialing effectiveness, across the health professions education continuum will require large multisite research projects and longitudinal studies. Current limitations that must be overcome to reach this goal include the prevalence of single-institution study designs, assessments of a single curricular component, and cross-sectional study designs that provide only a snapshot in time of a program or initiative rather than a longitudinal perspective.