Reflections on IPE
Professor Jill Thistlethwaite reflects on her experience of interprofessional education, her recent work with the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education at the University of Minnesota, and highlights a range of valuable new resources available.
An exploratory review of pre-qualification interprofessional education evaluations
There are diverse perceptions about the primary purpose of evaluation. In interprofessional education (IPE), there has been a perceived focus on evaluating against the outcome of improved collaborative practice and quality of care. This paper presents an exploration of the nature and purpose of evaluation methods commonly utilized in the IPE literature with its focus on outcomes-based evaluation and particularly the Kirkpatrick framework. It categorises recent evaluations of pre-qualification (pre-certification) IPE interventions.
Faculty perceptions of key factors in interprofessional education
Embedding interprofessional education (IPE) into academic programs presents structural, curricular and human factor challenges. Nurses and physicians comprise the dominant dyad in healthcare, and therefore nursing and medical faculty are key in guiding future IPE approaches. However, faculty experiences with IPE are rarely reported. This paper presents perceptions of medical and nursing faculty about key factors related to IPE for pre-licensure medical and nursing students.
Educating interprofessional learners for quality, safety and systems improvement
Most health professionals in training, as well as those in practice, lack the knowledge and skills they need to play an effective role in systems improvement. Until very recently, these competencies were not included in formal (or informal) educational curricula. Interprofessional collaboration – another core competency needed for successful systems improvement – is also inadequately taught and learned. Achieving Competence Today (ACT) was designed as a new model for interprofessional education for quality, safety and health systems improvement.
Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE)- VA Connecticut Healthcare System
VA Connecticut Healthcare System at the West Haven Campus has established a Center that will train future healthcare professionals to function effectively within teams to provide exceptional quality patient centered care. The educational objectives of the program follow the enterprise core domains.
Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE)- Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is "Transforming Out-Patient Care" (TOPC) by creating and enabling physicians, nurse practitioners and associated health learners to lead and participate in patient-centered interprofessional teams. The mission recognizes the importance of a comprehensive care model and the need for care transitions across venues (e.g. coordination of acute care to out-patient environment). The site has developed a competency based curriculum to support this model guided by CoEPCE/enterprise core domains.
Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE)- VA Puget Sound Healthcare System
The Seattle CoEPCE is working to advance education of interdisciplinary teams and develop clinical leaders who deliver patient-centered care, transform delivery of healthcare services, and improve health outcomes. A central focus of the Seattle CoEPCE is to develop skills needed for collaborative primary care practice during training.
Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE)- Boise VA Medical Center
Formal training, workplace learning and reflection drive the Boise Center of Excellence’s team-based primary care curricula. This interprofessional curriculum supports several disciplines, particularly nurse practitioner, internal medicine and pharmacy residents, and psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows. To deepen trainees’ understanding of interdependent roles and optimize preparation for practice in a transforming healthcare system, the Center also fosters multidisciplinary, continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects.
Program Highlights
Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCE)- San Francisco VA Medical Center
The San Francisco Center and Education for Patient Aligned Care Teams (EDPACT) is working to develop and implement a model of patient-centered, interprofessional education. The goal is to bring together teams of trainees, physicians, advanced practice and other nurses and associated health care providers to build shared knowledge and incorporate design principles for optimal workplace learning.