Interprofessional Education Initiatives: Getting Started

Interprofessional education experiences now are an expectation of professional health education programs. Effective teamwork and team-based quality health care depend on the ability to achieve the four defined competencies related to values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, communication and teamwork.

Implementing interprofessional activities present many challenges. This presentation describes the evolution of establishing interprofessional activities across the campus of an academic health science center. The presence of multiple professions in a contained site did not reduce the hurdles, which ranged from gaining administrative support to adjusting student and faculty schedules so they have time to collaborate. Initial efforts started over ten years ago with campus-community partnerships. The impetus at that time was the intrinsic value to the faculty and students. Over time, the external demands of accreditation standards have helped gain support from campus administrators, but the logistical hurdles still exist.

The presentation describes examples of interprofessional activities in the classroom, the community and the clinical area. Educational modules are available to guide discussion groups that may include both health care and non-health care students. Potential clinical activities vary widely, from community service projects to initial and limited clinical interactions to increasingly sophisticated interprofessional simulation activities with standardized patients. The challenges of engaging faculty and students are described, as are the perceived rewards. Interprofessional competencies are defined and reviewed. Experiences need to evolve beyond the multiple professions in the same space to truly interactive experiences. Presenters also describe successful funding opportunities for their activities.