Interprofessional Practice and Education Programs in the US – Organizational Structure and Resources

Learning Objectives:

After participating in this seminar, learners will be able to:

1. Describe the heterogeneity of US IPE program organizational structure, resources, and relationships across IPE programs.
2. Describe relevant strategies for using the information obtained from this survey.
3. Identify aspects of IPE program organizational structure and resources that are potentially being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
4. Discuss recommendations for future national surveys of IPE programs.

NEXUS Summit Theme and Subtheme to be addressed: To understand the current status of IPE program development in the US, a national survey of IPE programs was conducted in 2019 by the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC) in conjunction with the National Center for Interprofessional Collaboration and Education (National Center; https://nexusipe.org/informing/resource-center/organizational-models-interprofessional-practice-and-education-united). The mixed methods survey results, published in August 2020, (AIHC 2020) were further examined to develop a deeper understanding of the relationships among IPE program organizational factors. A small qualitative follow-up survey conducted in September 2020 determined the operational impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic was having on IPE programs.

The objective of this seminar is to discuss and explore the characteristics and relationships among IPE program organizational factors and resources resulting from the data obtained from the 2019 national AIHC-National Center IPE program survey and to learn how Covid-19 has impacted IPE programs. This seminar supports the summit theme of Innovations in Interprofessional Learning: In Practice and/or Education and subtheme Assessment, Evaluation, and Big Data as participants will have opportunities to engage with other IPE program leaders and stakeholders to discuss the survey results, develop recommendations for how to use the survey data to support their IPE initiatives, and identify critical IPE program organizational and resource characteristics to explore in future national IPE program surveys.

Skills and Practical Knowledge: Participants will gain skills and practical knowledge from exposure to other IPE program stakeholders, discussion with the many components that comprise the organizational aspects of IPE programs, and consideration of the potential implementation of this knowledge to enhance continued IPE program development at their institution. Further, participants will determine strategic innovations and policy directions that are driving the future of IPE/IPCP.

Seminar Outline:

• Discuss the survey analysis of IPE program organizational characteristics and the relationships among IPE program organizational factors. (15 minutes)
• Small group discussion of objectives 2, 3, and 4. (30 minutes)
• Summary and recommendations for next steps led by participants and facilitators. (15 minutes)

Active Learning Strategies:

• Breakout rooms
• Small group discussion (Assigned Focus with Reporting to Larger Group)
• Chat function (File Capture Text)
• Large group discussion and polling (Retain Polling Results)