About Us
The National Center is bringing health care practice and health professions education together in a new Nexus for better care, added value and healthier communities.
How Fast is Fast?
When we launched the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, we were ready to move much faster than usual in higher education, but we didn’t know how fast we might move until recently. One example of this speed is how quickly our idea of “Nexus” has caught on – even starting to become part of the interprofessional education lexicon.
We’ve seen significant and substantive progress in three areas. Plus, many more things are happening that I want to tell you about.
A Culture Builds
On April 5th, UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP) hosted a day of events with Glen E. Gresham Visiting Professor Ivy Oandasan. Ivy engaged in a talk about “Being on the Cutting Edge – Advancing Interprofessional Education for Quality Care.” Without a doubt, she captivated the audience of 160 faculty, students and guests with her knowledge and enthusiasm about the future of interprofessional 
education and care.
IPE With a Broad Range of Learners
The University of Minnesota 1Health program has set forth with the intention of exposing a broad range of health and health care professional students to the concepts of interprofessional collaboration through interprofessional education. The 1Health introductory course, the Foundations of Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration, or FIPCC (fip-see), is a required course for over 1000 students across the U of M Academic Health Center. The course material is presented using a small group, discussion-based format. Groups are comprised of twelve students from as few
Connecting Learning and Practice to Transform Patient Care
In January 2013, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation hosted a groundbreaking conference in Atlanta, Ga., to discuss how best to “connect great learning and great practice.” National leaders in health professions education and health care delivery examined how educational reform might occur in step with the rapidly transforming health care delivery system. This link between education and practice is what the national center calls the Nexus.
Launching the Nexus Innovations Incubator
Last week, teams from eight states met in Phoenix, Ariz., to launch the Nexus innovations incubator—the national center’s “testing laboratory” for approaches to improve interprofessional practice and education, both locally and nationally. These eight pioneer innovation incubator sites bring a track record of accelerating interprofessional practice and education across health care systems, communities, and higher education.
Leadership in IPE- Learning From the Past
Leadership in IPE calls for creating a culture of collaboration among faculty, students, universities and communities. We must model what we teach. To advance this spirit of leadership and culture in IPE at UB, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from one of the best. UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP) is proud to host a day of events April 5th with Dr. Ivy Oandasan, an international leader in IPE, and SPHHP’s 3rd Annual Glen E. Gresham Visiting Professor.
Silos and the Timing of IPE
A frequently described barrier to the implementation of interprofessional education leading to interprofessional collaboration is the silo phenomenon. Historically, students in the health and health care professions are trained in isolation from other professions, and are thus limited in the opportunities to learn about each other prior to engaging in the care or management environment where they are destined to work together. Open questions regarding silos are whether silos serve a purpose and, if so, can the function of silos be achieved while promoting greater integration of
Experiences with IPE and the Early-Stage Learner
The Foundations of Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration (FIPCC) course was launched in 2010 by the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. As an introductory course, FIPCC brings together early-stage learners from across the health, health care, and health-care associated professions to engage each other in an interprofessional learning environment. In the Fall of 2013, over 1000 enrolled students from 13 professions will meet in 85 mixed professional groups to engage in exercises designed to promote developmen
Supporting Your Collaborations
As we have ramped up the national center, I’ve had the good fortune to hear from many of you who have shared your work, asked questions and requested support for developing and implementing interprofessional education and collaborative practice. I’m seeing themes in your work and opportunities to connect across efforts. Importantly, they are the same themes we have included in our vision for the national center as a coordinating and collaborating organization: