Resource Center

Academic Medicine Invited Commentary by National Center Founding Director Barbara Brandt and colleagues:

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an interprofessional socialization (IPS) based interprofessional education (IPE) program intervention on health professions students’ IPS process and dual identity development. Despite the growing acknowledgment of IPS in recent literature, there is a paucity of research investigating socialization processes learners move through in order to develop dual identity – professional and interprofessional. A concurrent embedded mixed-method design was used.

While the quality of IPECP evaluative research studies has improved over the years, there is still much to be achieved. According to the InterprofessionalResearch.Global (IPR.Global) Discussion Paper, “the research agenda for IPECP should elevate the process of enquiry by shifting focus from that of program- or project-specific level interrogation to determining the impact of IPECP.”

The road to interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) in North America is described as a “long and winding” one. Most in our field are unaware of how long our history truly is, and why commitment to teams, IPE, and IPCP comes and goes over time, creating short institutional memories. Valuing health care teamwork dates to the 1910s followed by a significant surge of interest after World War II.

Interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives are growing due to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative's core competencies being incorporated into health professions educations programs' accreditation criteria. This investigation examined organizational models and structures of US IPE programs using mixed methodology of quantitative survey and qualitative analysis.

This short commentary seeks to provide some practical guidance on how to successfully implement and maintain rural interprofessional experiences for pre-registration students. Successful, sustainable IPE initiatives require upfront investment of time and resources to develop collaborative relationships with iwi and rural providers, to enable discovery of what works best within a specific rural context, to determine the appropriate time needed to implement the initiative and to develop strategies for program maintenance and sustainability.

An educational initiative, based around a credible patient profile and scenario, demonstrated that the presence of a pharmacist within a multi-professional group led to higher positive attributes scores. This suggests improved accuracy and quality of the communication throughout the transition from tertiary to primary care. The pharmacist’s involvement led to less severe errors when errors were made.

A template is presented for a program of assessment of health promotion competencies in the curricula of health professional programs. Such assessment is a first step toward dialogue regarding common health promotion competencies within and across health professions.

This study aimed to understand the development of a university-based interprofessional teaching team over a 4-year period and generate insights to aid the development of such teams elsewhere. Findings included that interprofessional teaching is initially challenging but ultimately enriching. Interprofessional teaching skills take time to develop and perspectives of role change over time. Educator team development is aided by commitment, understanding, enthusiasm, leadership and trust.