IPE: A community based, multi-institutional approach
Purpose
To educate colleagues about an innovative interprofessional partnership that includes graduate students and faculty from multiple healthcare institutions.
Methods/Description
During fall of 2011, five graduate health care programs met to develop a plan to offer IPE education sessions to students. The offerings began spring 2012 with representatives from five charter programs: Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne nurse practitioner students, nurse practitioners and physician assistant students from the University of Saint Francis, medical students from Indiana University School of Medicine Fort Wayne, pharmacy students from Manchester College of Pharmacy, and family practice residents from the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program. The consortium became Fort Wayne Area Interprofessional Education Consortium (FWAIPEC) and began developing plans to offer high quality interprofessional educational opportunities to students. Initially, the consortium piloted a three educational offerings that included 75 participants per event.
Results/Outcomes
Four short years later the FWAIPEC has demonstrated remarkable advancements. Included now are include Trine University Doctor of Physical Therapy students and Huntington University Doctorate of Occupational Therapy students. FWAIPEC has expanded the curriculum to include a second year with three additional education offerings each academic year. Numbers of participants have increased to over 250 students and faculty at each event. An infrastructure has been put into place that includes a mission statement, by-laws and a board of directors with defined roles. These measures have led to enhanced efficiency and productivity of the alliance. Many collaborative ventures have been implemented as a result of the FWAIPEC.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: The Pursuit of Excellence in Physical Therapy Education
Instructional Strategies for the Classroom and Clinic: The FWAIPEC has established and executed an IPE curriculum that meets the accreditation needs of several professional healthcare disciplines. The consortium has become a champion in providing high quality IPE experiences to a diverse graduate healthcare student group despite numerous complexities. There have been several identifiable elements that have been instrumental in the success of this coalition. FWAIPEC has also proven to be a conduit that promotes communication and collaboration among the numerous academic institutions in Fort Wayne.
References
1) Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washing, DC: Interpofessional Education Collaborative.
2) LaBarbera, D., Kiersma, M., Yoder, M., Maldonado, A., Poling, D. (2012). Fort Wayne Area Interprofessional Consortium for Health Care Education: Interpforessional education seminar series. Retrieved from https://www.medportal.org/publication/9294
3) Poling, D. Kiersma, M. (2014). A Unique interprofessional and multi-institutional education series. Journal of Nursing Education, 53:7, 415-419