Principles for Developing an Interprofessional Education Curriculum in a Healthcare Program

Abstract

Interprofessional Education (IPE) has been a pedagogical method which has involved more than one professional discipline. For over the past ten years health professions and disciplines have had a goal to improve the quality of patient care by collaborating with each other [1]. The implementation of IPE has advanced the educational development of students in health sciences and healthcare beyond that of traditional curricula. The result being a greater understanding on the part of each student from different health disciplines of the quality aspects of patient care. Besides a greater understanding of quality patient care while still a student, IPE has fostered greater respect and positive attitudes amongst collaborative team members for improving patient outcomes [2,3].IPE is an interprofessional collaboration of health disciplines which affords clients or patients an opportunity to receive quality of care that has been influenced by other health disciplines and expertise. A key tenet of the IPE approach is greater communication between healthcare professionals. Greater communication increases the diversity and choice of care options, subsequently providing a higher patient care quality [4]. IPE brings together learners, students, and faculty in an interactive, team oriented, collaborative forum. The collaborative aspect places all participants on a similar contributory level. This differs from the more traditional hierarchical development of health care professions, which typically has a leader from a healthcare profession in charge.Improving teamwork and increasing cooperation in present day healthcare services is needed [5]. Interprofessional collaboration and IPE has been touted by the World Health Organization as "a necessary step in preparing a collaborative practice ready-ready" health force that is better prepared to respond to local health needs [6].IPE has become a focus in health care as a means to improve patient centred quality and safety, particularly in chronic disease [1]. Through improved communication amongst health care providers, IPE can decrease redundancy of interventions, and reduce health care costs. The IPE training process for health care students should begin as early as possible in a higher education setting.The purpose of this paper is to summarize principles and considerations in developing an IPE curriculum in an academic healthcare program. ProcessPreparing and developing an IPE curriculum can be challenging. First and foremost commitments are needed from university administration including deans and faculty from all professions and disciplines involved. Colleges and schools and the departments and programs within must commit time and resources for students to participate in the IPE course(s) and process. To facilitate curricular activities, departments and schools need to agree on a mapping or organizational format. The format should begin with basic collaborative activities and eventually proceed to a course(s). Facilities should have ample space to accommodate large numbers of s...

Patient interviews in interprofessional and intercultural contexts (PinKo) – project report on interdisciplinary competence development in students of medicine, pharmacy, and community interpreting

“…These findings support the call for mandatory interprofessional training in the education of healthcare professionals [ 18 ]. However, there are numerous obstacles to this.…”

Formación de recursos humanos para la salud universal: acciones estratégicas desde las instituciones académicas

“…Por ello, la atención integral de la salud requiere de una educación interprofesional (EIP) como estrategia para conseguirla. Desde el punto de vista conceptual, la EIP parte del supuesto de que la colaboración entre estudiantes de diversas disciplinas produce aprendizajes significativos que se traducirán más tarde en un trabajo colaborativo, en equipo, efectivo, económico y de mayor calidad (10). Además, la EIP propicia sinergias cognitivas y técnicas, facilita la integración de diversas cosmovisiones y el desarrollo de competencias y valores para abogar por el derecho a la salud y propiciar el empoderamiento en salud de las personas, familias y comunidades, por lo que es una estrategia útil para lograr la salud universal y la reducción de inequidades.…”

Facilitating motivation for interprofessional education programmes

“…Having them determine how to engage in IPE, that is, may play the dual role of highlighting the importance of collaborative leadership and team work while also helping them learn essential interprofessional core competencies. Evidence for the value of such control comes from other contexts in which it has been shown that programmes that include the target population in the programme's development show increased chances of the programme's uptake and effectiveness among the target population 9 …”

“…This focus on building autonomy offers an important step away from focusing simply on the methods used to deliver interprofessional education programmes. Various methods have been shown to either attract or deter students including simulation, case‐based learning and workshops, 5,9 but perhaps it is less the mannequins or human role players that have successfully developed interprofessional health care teams and more that such activities provide an opportunity to take control of one's interprofessional education in a manner that creates motivation to engage 9 . It is important, therefore, that work such as that presented by Ganotice et al continues because whatever the mechanism, we need to continue to find ways to enable students to learn role clarification, team functioning, interprofessional conflict resolution and values/ethics for interprofessional practice.…”