Educating for Achievement of Collaborative Practice Competency

What is Interprofessional Education (IPE)?

A widely used answer to the question of what is interprofessional education comes from the World Health Organization (WHO) which offers the following statement,  “Interprofessional education occurs when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.”  (WHO, 2010).

At UIC, we recognize that interprofessional education is an important component of educating a “collaboration ready” workforce. Interprofessional education is a necessary component of developing competence in interprofessional education for learners at all levels - health professions students in pre-qualification programs, residents, fellows and practicing professionals. Learners at all levels can also gain knowledge and skills that lead to competence in interprofessional collaboration through uniprofessional education and self-study. An intentionally designed IPE curriculum has clearly identified learner outcomes and may include interprofessional, uniprofessional and self directed learning experiences to achieve those outcomes.

For more information, please read Educating for Achievement of Collaborative Practice Competency document.

Definitions Heading link

“Interprofessional education occurs when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes”.  (WHO, 2010).

An educational approach in which learning experiences are designed for students from one profession.

An educational approach “in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes” (Knowles, M. (1975)  Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers, New York: Cambridge Books).