ETSU implemented the first year of a 2-year longitudinal IPE experience within the five colleges of the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center (AHSC). The four educational competencies of IPEC were used to create experience threads. Each semester two experience threads are covered; one consists of a simulation experience to practice the foundational principles in a safe environment, and the other a field experience to implement the foundational principle in a clinical setting.The majority of the content for experience threads and simulation experiences were implemented for three cohorts of students, however, field experiences continued to lack engagement and appropriate focus. This poster will show that redesigning the approach for identifying protected IPE time, restructuring the Community Engagement Working Group, providing tools to increase student engagement and improving communication of site expectations, led to a successful pilot program that assisted with integration of the clinical environment into the first year of the longitudinal experience.Early feedback led to increased and timelier communication between site leaders and faculty facilitators, and more curricular exposure for site leaders. When comparing fall (N=224) and spring (N=157) semesters, the student evaluation of the field experience showed an increase in student engagement and satisfaction. Spring (N=47) faculty evaluations rated the clinical sites more appropriate to meet the needs of the community engagement opportunity than they had in the fall Semester (N=44). The patient sharing their story and interacting with the team members were a key factor in faculty and student satisfaction.The clinical environment can be integrated into the core IPE curriculum with appropriate planning, communication and resources.