Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

The FICP Program is an annual interprofessional education (IPE) learning experience designed for students who are early in their health professions education. In 2025, 1,155 students from 14 different programs across the seven health science colleges participated.

The FICP Program aims to introduce learners to core concepts of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (ICP) and provide meaningful opportunities to learn with, from, and about students in other health professions. The program consists of three asynchronous online modules and a 3-hour synchronous, facilitated interprofessional immersion session held on April 18 and 21.

The success of the FICP Program relies heavily on the dedication of volunteer facilitators. This year over 60 faculty, staff, and advanced peer facilitators from all seven health sciences colleges and the University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics contributed their time and expertise to support student learning during the program.

Students and facilitators rated the program highly, with many highlighting the experience as a valuable and impactful learning opportunity:

• 94% of students agreed that their group facilitator fostered their synthesis of the course materials and participation (n=748)
• 93% of students agreed that they had the opportunity to contribute fully to the group discussions (n=913)
• 94% of students agreed that there was mutual respect among all group members (n=910)
• 96% of faculty and staff facilitators agreed that they felt well prepared to facilitate their interprofessional team of students (n=23)
• 91% of faculty and staff facilitators agreed that they learned something valuable (n=23).

The Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (FICP) Program is a learning experience for students across all health sciences colleges at all UIC campuses take early in their educational program. It serves to introduce important concepts, including what interprofessional collaborative practice is, why it is important, and how students can develop the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as a member of an interprofessional team. With more than a decade under its belt, the Foundations in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice now boasts participation of over 1,300 students from all UIC campuses and nearly 70 faculty and advanced peer facilitators.

The course consists of three online modules that are followed by a three-hour synchronous online immersion session in which a group of students from at least four different UIC health professions education programs and a facilitator work together to apply interprofessional collaborative practice and health equity concepts in a series of group discussions.

Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice is structured as four components:

• Module 1: An Introduction to Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
• Module 2: The Roles and Responsibilities of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Teams
• Module 3: Team Science and Values and Ethics in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
• Synchronous Immersion Sessions

For more information, please contact Ami Shah at ashah58@uic.edu.