Interprofessional education (IPE) is recognized as an important component in the education of healthcare students. The goal of bringing students together to learn with, from, and about each other is to ultimately impact collaborative practice and improve patient care. Over the last 20 years there has been increased focus on the design and implementation of IPE experiences. Several IPE collaborative organizations and IPE centers have been formed to provide evidence-based recommendations and guidelines. Strategies have been created for designing and implementing high quality IPE activities, developing faculty in IPE, overcoming student stereotypes, determining assessment strategies, and identifying barriers to IPE. This chapter will focus on each of these elements and provide specific recommendations on how to create and implement IPE that improves student learning.
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In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published the Quality Chasm report stating that “the health care delivery system has floundered in its ability to provide consistently high-quality care” (Institute of Medicine, 2001, p. 2). In a follow-up report, the IOM commented further on one component as a tool to address the problem. That report focused on health care education and recognized the need for a focus on interprofessional education (IPE). The report stated: “All health professionals should be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team” (Greiner & Knebel, 2003, p. 45).
IPE and the training of students to function as an interprofessional team is crucial to enhance the provision of quality health care (Remington, Foulk, & Williams, 2006). Students who participate in IPE are more likely to be collaborative practitioners (Bridges, Davidson, Odegard, Maki, & Tomkowiak, 2011). High-quality IPE experiences require strategic instructional design. In and of itself, interprofessional education has unique pedagogical principles and nuances. Faculty members and administrators must consider several specific components throughout the creation and implementation process. These relate to design methodology, faculty development, student preparation, barriers to IPE, and assessment techniques. Each of these important components will be discussed in detail in this chapter.