Interprofessional Education

Abstract

Interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP) offers the potential to improve patient care in comparison with disjointed care provided by a random group of individual health-care providers. Some even see collaborative care as a panacea for patient safety. At the postgraduate level, collaborative practice is now taught and well entrenched in many specialties, including pediatrics, geriatrics, oncology, primary care, and others, particularly in settings such as intensive care and in the care of patients with chronic diseases.

Educational initiatives at the undergraduate level in which health-care students learn with, from, and about each other, thereby laying a foundation for interprofessional collaborative practice, are termed interprofessional education. In recent years, interest has expanded in this field in many schools of health-care professions. Demonstrated short-term effects may be seen in student feedback, attitudinal change, knowledge and skills, behavioral change, organizational change, and, finally, impact on patient care. However, little is known regarding the long-term effect of interprofessional education on patients’ experiences of health care, the health of communities, the work life of health-care professionals, and the possibility of reducing health-care costs.

This chapter will explore the current status of interprofessional education and describe the required core competencies and approaches to active learning opportunities that have been studied and/or implemented.