Innovation in Collaborative Online Learning Yields Sustainable Model for University-wide Interprofessional Education.

BACKGROUND: Growing health professional accreditation mandates and expectations for interprofessional education (IPE) have led to heightened interest amongst health professions educators and administrators in the creation and development of effective and sustainable IPE programming. IPE ACTIVITY: At the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, an institution-wide initiative called Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC) was initiated to strengthen IPE knowledge and skills, increase IPE offerings, and integrate IPE into curricula. In 2020, stakeholders developed, implemented, and evaluated a university-wide IPE activity called the LINC Common IPE Experience, which includes three collaborative online learning modules that students complete synchronously using a videoconference platform without direct faculty facilitation. Mini-lectures, interprofessional discussions, and authentic case studies using innovative media facilitated meaningful engagement of 977 students from 26 different educational programs. DISCUSSION: Quantitative and qualitative results from evaluations demonstrated significant student engagement, increased awareness and understanding of teamwork, progress towards interprofessional competency development, and benefits related to professional development. The LINC Common IPE Experience provides a valuable example of a robust, high-impact foundational IPE activity that can serve as a sustainable model for university-wide IPE.

Defining and classifying co-curricular interprofessional education in the health professions: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review will identify, characterize, and classify co-curricular interprofessional education activities and practices. INTRODUCTION: According to the World Health Organization, interprofessional education occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with one another to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. As such, interprofessional education is imperative to health professions education. Globally, competency frameworks and guidelines have urged educators to reach consensus about interprofessional education terminology and to integrate this form of education into formal curricula. Voluntary interprofessional education that takes place outside formal curricula (ie, co-curricular) is frequently used to overcome well-documented barriers (eg, discordant academic calendars). We will explore the global literature to identify, characterize, and classify published examples of co-curricular interprofessional education activities. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider voluntary interprofessional education involving students from at least two different health professions. These education activities will take place outside the formal curriculum and will not result in transcript designation. METHODS: The search strategy will aim to locate primary studies from peer-reviewed journals indexed in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, ERIC, and Academic Search Complete. The results will be limited to English-language publications from 2009 until the present. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, and potentially relevant papers will be assessed in detail. Data will be extracted using a tool developed by the reviewers. Descriptive statistics will be used to characterize the data, which will be presented in diagrammatic, tabular, or other relevant formats.

A co-curricular interprofessional education activity to facilitate socialization and meaningful student engagement.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice are important drivers of healthcare transformation. Early learning activities designed to foster socialization may help students develop an interprofessional identity, built on an understanding of their unique contributions to interprofessional teams. INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITY: At the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), an institution-wide initiative called Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration was started to advance IPE and strengthen students' attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to interprofessional teamwork. An IPE orientation focused on socialization and meaningful student engagement was developed. The event included dinner, a socialization activity, a roles/responsibilities-focused activity, faculty member accounts of interprofessional collaboration, and a recorded patient interview with guided reflection. One hundred thirty-one students attended. The event was evaluated for student satisfaction and meaningfulness of pedagogical strategies to inform the design and implementation of future IPE activities. DISCUSSION: Quantitative results were positive, with activities rated 3.5 or higher using a 4-point Likert scale. Faculty stories were rated the most meaningful component. Student comments indicated a desire to have more time dedicated to socialization activities and an increased opportunity to see their profession highlighted. IMPLICATIONS: Outcomes informed the creation of a Common IPE Experience at UT Health San Antonio, which launched in 2020 for approximately 1000 students. The Common IPE Experience featured interprofessional socialization, wide-ranging representation of professions, case studies inspired by patient experiences, and faculty interpretations of case studies, all of which were derived from lessons learned in this IPE Report.