Future health professionals are often educated with other students of their same discipline when, in practice, they will be working with professionals from other backgrounds to provide care for the patient. Complex issues of ethical concern are common to health professionals due to modern technology. This paper describes the evolution of an interprofessional bioethics course that had a unique combination of students and faculty. Innovative teaching methods were utilized and continuously refined based on student evaluations. Students commonly cited the interprofessional interactions as the most enjoyable part of the learning experience. Establishing a patient-centered focus and an appreciation of the contributions of other disciplines, students learned how to apply ethical decision-making to real cases. At the conclusion of the course, students reported improved attitudes toward interprofessional teamwork. This course format and teaching techniques may be applied at other universities looking for linkages to encourage consistent interprofessional collaboration across disciplines.

Developing effective interprofessional education (IPE) training activities can be challenging, and faculty at individual programs and schools often take on this task independently. In doing so, similar ideas are frequently recreated for implementation at multiple institutions, and considerable time may be spent in these duplicative efforts. This paper describes a new state-wide effort in Tennessee to compile classroom-based IPE curricular resources and activities being used across the state in order to reduce redundancy, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and ultimately improve training outcomes for students entering health-related professions. We focus on processes involved in developing this contribution to IPE education in order to emphasize feasibility and encourage similar initiatives in other regions.

Based on the growing importance of community engagement and the recognition of its importance by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the committee offers several examples of community engagement activities for consideration and replication by our academy and beyond. These activities, including those of winning institutions of the Lawrence J. Weaver Transformational Community Engagement Award, can be mapped to the core components of community engagement presented in Table 1. The committee, using an implementation readiness framework, provides the reader with insight into the challenges that may impact successful community engagement and encourages our academy to continue its work to support faculty capacity in this area. Toward that end, the committee offers a policy statement that encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy to have an office or designate a faculty member whose focus is specifically on community engagement. The committee also offers a recommendation that the core components be included in the criteria for the Weaver Award.

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Policymakers and electronic health records (EHR) experts agree that healthcare professionals lack proficiency in meaningful use of EHRs. This competency gap can result in increased medical errors. It is essential for health professions graduates to acquire skill sets that are adaptable to any electronic health information technologies including the EHRs to facilitate work process and information access. Simulation as an instructional method to create transformative learning experiences has shown promise in the medical profession. In simulations, learners are able to engage in real-life scenarios and practice their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills in a safe environment. The goal was to design and develop a simulation-based instructional module on meaningful use of EHR and interprofessional collaborative practice core competencies and evaluate students’ performance and satisfaction under an inter professional teambased setting. Using a design and development research approach, a simulation-based instructional module on meaningful use of EHR and interprofessional core competencies was designed. An internal validation of the module was conducted with an expert panel of medical professionals and instructional designers. Following validation, the instructional module was developed and pilot tested with a group of 21 second- and third year health professions students in medicine, pharmacy, and nursing in an interprofessional team-based learning environment. Students’ performance on meaningful use and interprofessionalism core competencies and their satisfaction during the simulation-based training were evaluated. The results confirmed that the students properly implemented the core competencies based on their performances during the immersive virtual patient encounter in the 3D virtual world. The analysis also showed how the students’ satisfaction was met as a reaction to the guided experiential learning’s (GEL) simulation-based instructional intervention, and in some instances were not sufficiently met. The analysis of the students’ testimonials further confirmed their overall satisfaction with the immersive simulation experience.The findings, based on the feedback from the students and faculty in this pilot implementation, highlighted simulation-based interactive gaming instruction and the hands-on experience in a 3D virtual world guided by GEL as an effective and engaging way to train healthcare professionals in the preparation to deliver care in a safe and effective manner under interprofessional team-based settings for better patient safety and outcome.

The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods study was to explore organizational contextual factors important to successful interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among primary care teams. In Phase 1, a single embedded case study design was utilized to understand how primary care teams describe IPC, the organizational contextual factors identified as most important to successful IPC, and differences in context between teams. In Phase 2, a quantitative survey was administered to primary care team members at 10 organizations to objectively measure the relationship between contextual factors identified in Phase 1 and IPC. In Phase 1, primary care team members generally described IPC positively with notable challenges to consistently collaborating as a team. Teams varied in terms of their team structure, physical layout of the practice, and organizational hierarchy of the practice. Organizational contextual factors that were deemed most important included team structure and resources, including staff, time, and communication tools; supportive, patient-centered culture, including team member support and expectations for IPC as the way to provide the best care to patients; leadership, including organizational leadership support and provider leadership; and organizational structure and resources, including status as a federally qualified health center (FQHC) and academic facility. In Phase 2, a strong, positive relationship was found between IPC and team member support and provider leadership. A moderate, positive relationship was found between IPC and team resources, clan culture, and perceived organizational support. A weak, positive relationship was found between IPC and patient-centered values. No statistically significant relationship was found between IPC and status as a FQHC or presence of a physician residency program. The findings support the importance of organizational context for IPC and suggest that organizational culture and leadership hold particular importance for IPC success.

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the relevance of policy factors identified by Mulvale and Bourgeault (2007) on interprofessional collaboration in PHC, by soliciting stakeholders’ perspectives. / ABSTRACT Background: Interprofessional team-based approaches to primary health care (PHC) delivery have gained support in the literature. Interprofessional primary health care (IPC) models of service delivery allow for different professionals to work together to address patients’ needs. Family Health Teams (FHTs) are a newly introduced model of IPC delivery in Ontario. A variety of factors can influence collaboration between professionals in IPC teams. Purpose/Research Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine stakeholders’ perspectives about policy factors that influence IPC team collaboration, using the example of FHTs in Ontario. Methods: This descriptive study employs semi-structured interviews with key informants from select Ontario FHTs. Directed content analysis was used to examine the Mulvale and Bourgeault (2007) framework. Interviews were conducted with FHT professionals to describe their perspectives on the influence of policy factors in shaping collaboration within their teams and whether identified policy factors acted to enhance or hinder collaboration. Findings: Key informants cited, with highest agreement, economic and regulatory factors as influencing collaboration. Factors agreed upon unanimously by all key informants included funding, provider payment/remuneration, and practice scope. Key informants identified a range of policy factors that hinder collaboration. These included provider payment/remuneration, legal accountability, and the existence of multiple governing bodies. Implications/Conclusion: A number of policy factors were reported to influence collaboration in FHTs in Ontario. Although the findings suggest that incremental reform is possible, widespread policy reform of physician incentives, a key barrier to collaboration, is unlikely. Prospects for reform of this factor may be more promising at an organizational level. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Introduction: Interprofessional education (IPE) provides an opportunity for students from single-professions to interact with other disciplines. Student attitude to IPE can impact engagement and change in attitude may provide an indicator of the impact of IPE. This study examines pre-workshop attitudes to IPE and change in attitude following a series of three IPE workshops. Methods: Preworkshop attitudes were examined using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Interprofessional Education Perception Scale (IEPS). The IEPS was repeated at the start of Workshop 1 and at the end of Workshop 3. Data were analyzed using linear regression analysis and linear mixed methods for repeated measures. Results: 405 students participated (pre-workshop n=122; workshop 1 n=244; workshop 3 n=236). Pre-workshop attitudinal scores were high. While male gender and studying medicine negatively predicted attitude across some domains, previous experience of a joint patient treatment session on clinical placement positively predicted attitude in the domain of Perception of Actual Cooperation (standardised Beta 0.283, p=0.005). Attitude to IPE improved across all domains of the IEPS from online preparation to the end of workshop 3 (pCompetency and Autonomy, and in the domain of Perceived Need for Cooperation improved only following online preparation, while the domain of Perception of Actual Cooperation improved following both online preparation and participation in the workshops. Discussion: The results presented reflect positively on student readiness for IPE. Attitudes were further improved following engagement in a structured series of IPE workshops.

Objectives: To identify personal values that are consistent with participant’s respective profession’s code of ethics. To compare and contrast personal values with those of other team members. To create an interprofessional team code of ethics.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is, in some cases, a genuine effort to improve health professions training programs and in others, a "box that must be checked" for program accreditation. The types of training and trainees involved in IPE initiatives are wide-ranging, and efforts to articulate measurable competencies for different developmental levels and disciplines are in their infancy. Still, leaders in IPE have indicated that just as the evolving healthcare system is putting new training demands on academic health centers/health professionals training programs to teach team care, strong IPE programs can fuel and empower the health care industry. In this session, a panel of IPE leaders from a range of professional backgrounds (nursing, pharmacy, medicine, psychology) answer essential questions about the evolution and trajectory of IPE as a catalyst for improved health care. Describe the current tensions in the academic environment around IPE programming. Identify crucial "next steps" for IPE programs in better fitting with health care evolution. Discuss how IPE could, if empowered to do so, fuel an even stronger team care capacity within health care.