Interprofessional education (also known as inter-professional education or "IPE") refers to occasions when students from two or more professions in health and social care learn together during all or part of their
professional training
Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferab ...
with the object of cultivating collaborative practice for providing client- or
patient
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...
-centered
health care
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
.
Overview
Interprofessional learning involves students learning from students from other professions, as well as learning with students from other professions, for example in the classroom, and learning about other professions. Interprofessional learning and teaching can take place at an academic institution, but also regularly occurs in workplace environments where students gain applicable and practical experience.
Associated terms include "multi-professional education", "common learning", "shared learning", and "
interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
learning." In contrast to multiprofessional education interprofessional education involves interactive learning focused on active collaboration. It is primarily used in the domains of health and social care, where collaborative and patient-centred practice are expected to improve the effectiveness of health care and the quality of life of health & social service users.
There is debate about the effectiveness of interprofessional education in enabling collaborative practice. Research and
systematic review
A systematic review is a scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic. A systematic review extracts and interprets data from published studies on ...
s continue to identify some evidence of effectiveness in changing
attitudes.
But more empirical evidence of longer term impact is needed, particularly in respect of effects on
service quality and service
users
Ancient Egyptian roles
* User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty
* Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User"
Other uses
* User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
' and
patient
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...
s' experience. Nevertheless, more evaluations of IPE have been conducted than for many other commonly accepted educational approaches.
WHO Study Group and World Committee on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice
Recognizing the importance of interprofessional education as one of the innovative approaches that can help tackle the global
health workforce
Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) or health workforce – is defined as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes", according to World Health Organizati ...
challenge, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO) convened a WHO Study Group on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice in 2007 to articulate a greater understanding of this issue within a global context. It was tasked with providing guidance to Member States on how they could use interprofessional collaboration to scale-up and build more flexible health workforces that enable local health needs to be met efficiently and effectively while maximizing resources.
The WHO Study Group engaged various partners and undertook a program of work that culminated in the publication of WHO's ''Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice'' in March 2010. The Framework highlights the current status of interprofessional collaboration around the world, identifies the mechanisms that shape successful collaborative teamwork, and outlines a series of action items that policymakers can apply within their local
health system
A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...
. It provides strategies and ideas that can help
health policy
Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(archived 5 February 2011) According ...
makers implement the elements of interprofessional education and collaborative practice that will be most beneficial in their own jurisdiction.
The WHO Study Group consisted of almost 30 top education, practice and policy experts from across every region of the world. Overall leadership was provided by Co-Chairs Prof. John HV Gilbert (University of British Columbia & Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative) and Dr. Jean Yan (World Health Organization) and a secretariat led by Mr. Steven J. Hoffman (World Health Organization). This led to a report describing the necessity to act on changes in (higher) education and in clinical institutions to implement and secure interprofessional collaborative practice.
Partners included the following organizations:
* Australasian Interprofessional Practice and Education Network
* Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative
* European Interprofessional Practice and Education Network
* International Association for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice
* Journal of Interprofessional Care
* National Health Sciences Students' Association, Canada
* Nordic Interprofessional Network
* The Network: Towards Unity for Health
* UK Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education
Since 2012 a World Committee is active, supervising the biennial All Together Better Health (ATBH) Conferences and overarching the regional networks around the world. The management structure of this World Committee was restructured in 2015, with Prof. Andre Vyt serving as first chair.
* World Committee All Together Better Health
Medical school curriculum
Interprofessional education (IPE) is becoming a more common component of medical school curriculum in the United States. IPE programs have existed transiently at various schools since the 1960s, but interprofessional education programs are growing, as they are increasingly viewed as a means of reducing medical errors and improving the health care system.
The following medical schools currently have interprofessional programs as a part of their curriculum:
* Linköping University
* University of Washington
*
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became p ...
* Northeast Ohio Medical University
*
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a
public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...
* University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
*
University of Illinois College of Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and formerly Champaign–Urbana metropolitan ...
*
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
*
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
*
University of South Florida College of Medicine
*
University of Virginia School of Medicine
The University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA SOM or more commonly known as UVA Medicine) is the graduate medical school of the University of Virginia. The school's facilities are on the University of Virginia grounds adjacent to The Lawn, ...
*
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eskind Biomedical Libra ...
*
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
* Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
*
Western University of Health Sciences
Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a Private university, private medical school, medical university in Pomona, California. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in m ...
*
Yale University School of Medicine
*
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
* University of Kansas
*
Des Moines University
*
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
The Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFU) is a Private university, private Postgraduate education, graduate school in North Chicago, Illinois. It has more than 2,000 students in six schools: Chicago Medical School, College of ...
* College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
* University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
* Saint Louis University
*
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine
* University of Missouri-Columbia
* Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
* A.T.Still University
* University of Texas Medical Branch/UTMB Health
* Lebanese American University
*
D'Youville College
See also
*
Health Human Resources
Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) or health workforce – is defined as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes", according to World Health Organizati ...
* ''
Journal of Interprofessional Care''
References
* Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (2017)
Compendium of Five Case Studies: Lessons for Interprofessional Teamwork in Education and Workplace Learning Environments 2011-2016(S. Gilman & L. Traylor Eds.): United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Academic Affiliations.
External links
Resources and organisations:
University of Virginia Center for Interprofessional Education (ASPIRE)Center for Health Science Interprofessional Education, Research and PracticeThe National Center for Interprofessional Practice and EducationUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center 2013 IPE Annual ReportCIHC: Canadian Interprofessional Health CollaborativeCIHC Library- A repository of interprofessional health and education materials
CAIPE: Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional EducationEIPEN: European Interprofessional Education NetworkJournal of Interprofessional CareInterprofessional Education and Practice, University of ArizonaAPTR Healthy People Curriculum TaskforceJournal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and EducationDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Office of Academic Affiliations: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Academic Affiliations, Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Academic Affiliations, Interprofessional Academic Patient Aligned Care Team (iAPACT)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interprofessional Education
Philosophy of education
Health care quality
Medical treatments
World Health Organization