A History of Interprofessional Education and Assessment at WesternU

This chapter traces the early history and progress of a pioneering interprofessional practice and education (IPE) program at Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU), whose growth and development can be viewed in the context of the broader IPE field, that of a nascent movement within the United States to recognize and facilitate collaborative, patient-centered healthcare. This chapter provides some of the background and details from the early design years at WesternU. The IPE movement in the U.S. worked with general principles and broad conceptual outcomes such as safety and quality but it took time to delineate more specific guidelines and practices. Over the years, frameworks and standards for education, practice, and outcomes assessment have developed that have helped to guide the program. Similarly, WesternU has developed and refined its education and assessment methods over time.

Interprofessional Education

With an ever worsening shortage of healthcare workers, there has been a global shift towards strengthening of interprofessional education (IPE). IPE has existed as a powerful tool in developed countries, but in developing countries like India, it is still in its infancy. Several models of interprofessional education exist, yet India lags behind in implementing these models in academic curricula. Rudimentary curriculum, inefficient healthcare system, and maldistribution of health professionals are some of the potential barriers. A complete overhaul of the healthcare system along with progressive strategies of incorporation of IPE needs to be debated, and associated limitations need to be addressed. Adequate institutional support, well-constructed protocols, infrastructural revamp, and change of workplace culture are vital for IPE to succeed and be sustainable. This chapter provides an overview of IPE and collaborative practice in Indian settings and presents an account of an Indian institution utilizing IPP approach and highlights potential challenges in incorporating IPE in the academic curriculum.

How to Build Effective Interprofessional Healthcare Teams

Building effective interprofessional (IP) teams is an important process for healthcare systems across the world. In order to be truly effective, professional degree programs must teach our future health professionals to learn and collaborate on teams during their education. The goal of building effective IP healthcare teams will be achieved when each healthcare system effectively supports IP collaboration, the development of dynamic teams, and the appropriate use of resources. Advancing the effort to build effective IP healthcare teams will take an investment from key stakeholders such as educators, faculty and students, leaders and researchers in academic medicine, hospital and system administrators, policymakers, as well as patients and their families to create a culture of IP collaboration and provide the resources necessary to be sustainable and successful. This chapter will serve to show that effective IP healthcare teams can successfully improve patient outcomes, provide quality care, improve the healthcare team's experience, and reduce costs.

Interprofessional Eye Care

Doctors of Optometry and optometric students, interns, and residents are valuable members of the interprofessional team. Including both primary eye care and more specialized optometric care that can encompass elements of secondary and tertiary care in the collaborative care of patients ensures a holistic, whole-body approach to wellness and supports patients' quality of life. Doctors of Optometry play a vital role in ensuring optimal health throughout the lifespan, and in particular, for people with chronic conditions and complex health concerns. The authors explore examples of how optometrists participate in the healthcare team and describe how optometrists can make an impact for patients across the life span.

Using a Community-Based Collaborative Care Model as a Platform for Successful Interprofessional Education

Diabetes is a growing public health epidemic in the U.S. African Americans are particularly at-risk for diabetes with rates twice as high as whites. Health professionals are recommended to encourage their at-risk patients to participate in evidence-based lifestyle change programs, such as CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and support their weight loss efforts. This chapter describes feasibility/outcomes of a community-based collaborative care model used to implement a weekly-group DPP facilitated by interprofessional teams of medical school students with three African American churches (N=72 participants; 93% overweight/obese). At 12-weeks, 30% of participants had lost at least 5 lbs.; among those attending at least nine sessions, 55% achieved at least 3% weight loss. Findings suggest interprofessional student teams can feasibly partner with churches to deliver the DPP and achieve weight-loss outcomes associated with reducing diabetes risk. Future research is needed to determine scalability/costs of using community-based collaborative care student models to address diabetes.

How to Use Technology and Telehealth to Enhance the Interprofessional Community of Practice

The widespread availability and use of digital technology including the internet, cell phones, remote electrocardiogram, PACS (picture archiving and communication) systems, and video chat platforms such as Facetime and Zoom have fueled the growth of telehealth. In 2013, only about 350,000 Americans utilized telehealth technology as part of their care plan, and most of these patient interactions involved the use of telephone consults. By the end of 2018, that number had jumped to over 7,000,000. Coupled with the exponential increase in the use of telehealth technology has been a rapid decrease in the cost of telehealth technology and HIPAA compliant telehealth platforms. The ease of use and relative affordability of these technologic advances make telehealth technology an ideal tool to enhance the interprofessional community of practice.

The Physician Assistant Profession

In the United States, quality healthcare is an expectation. The accepted healthcare delivery approach relies on interprofessional, collaborative, and person-centered teams. As a result, health professions education must implement education and training to graduate a healthcare workforce that is competent in interprofessional collaboration. Physician assistants (PA) have an important role in the healthcare team. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a historical background to the interprofessional collaborative healthcare team, the formation of interprofessional education (IPE) competencies and partnerships, and the valued role of physician assistants. The need for evidence-based results to guide IPE curricular decisions for PA programs and characteristics of published IPE activities involving PA students are summarized. Potential barriers to successful interprofessional education and resolutions to those challenges are discussed.

Geriatric Interprofessional Education

Older persons commonly experience complex health needs that are best met by a multifaceted healthcare team. Most healthcare disciplines provide geriatric competencies specific to their professions which support the development of IPE curricula. The American Geriatric Society provided a list of formal geriatric competencies that are useful to curriculum designers and health professions educators. The chapter provides ideas for imbedding commonly occurring geriatric concepts and clinical assessment tools that are relevant to all disciplines for the creation of interprofessional learning activities.

Building Interprofessional Competencies Into Medical Education and Assessment

The goal of allopathic and osteopathic medical education is to develop the medical student into a competent and caring physician. As the evolving healthcare system continues to evolve and intersect with an increased breadth and depth of medical knowledge and an aging and more complex patient population, the emerging physician must now rely more on a team-based approach to patient-centered healthcare. Integrating interprofessional competencies into the span of the medical education and assessment process via the core competencies and the Entrustable Professional Activities has the potential to help instill not only the knowledge and skills required to practice as a member of an interprofessional healthcare team, but can also help to normalize the culture and thus the expectation of practicing collaboratively with all members of the health team toward the goal of improved patient outcome.

The Positive Impact of Intentional Curricular Design on Interprofessional Learning

Interprofessional education has been gaining traction in the educational and professional climate today. As a shift has been made to incorporate the collaboration of health professionals into education, benefits in overall quality of education and patient care have been observed. Students who are involved in IPE are able to learn about other careers, learn the limitations of their own career, cement existing knowledge, develop relationships with members of various fields, improve teamwork skills, and enhance their job satisfaction. Patients have also benefited from the new IPE implementation. As a result of increased collaboration, there has been a reduction in patient errors and overall improved quality of care among programs who participate in IPE.