Interprofessional Education Collaborative

Interprofessional Education Collaborative
Name	Interprofessional Education Collaborative
Abbreviation	IPEC
Founded	2009
Location	United States
Focus	Interprofessional practice, collaborative practice

Interprofessional Education Collaborative is a United States-based consortium formed to advance collaborative practice among health professions through coordinated curricular standards and competency frameworks. It brings together multiple professional associations to produce guidance, consensus statements, and educational resources aimed at improving team-based care across clinical settings such as hospitals, clinics, and community health centers. Founding coalitions included leading professional organizations that represent disciplines involved in patient care, public health, and health professions training.

History

The Collaborative was established in 2009 following convenings that involved representatives from Association of American Medical Colleges, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Dental Education Association, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, among others. Early milestones included publication of consensus documents influenced by models from World Health Organization reports, input from accreditation bodies like Liaison Committee on Medical Education and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and cross-sector dialogues involving educators from Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Francisco, Harvard Medical School, and Mayo Clinic. The Collaborative’s evolution paralleled broader initiatives such as the Institute of Medicine reports and policy efforts linked to Affordable Care Act implementation, drawing attention from stakeholders including National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and philanthropic funders like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Mission and Principles

The mission emphasizes preparing health professions students for team-based care aligned with standards used by institutions such as Veterans Health Administration and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Foundational principles reflect input from professional organizations including American Physical Therapy Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, National Association of Social Workers, Association of Schools of Public Health, and Council on Social Work Education. Guiding values incorporate patient- and family-centered care exemplified by initiatives from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, safety priorities articulated by The Joint Commission, and quality frameworks advanced by Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Emphasis is placed on role clarification, interprofessional communication, team functioning, and ethics, aligning with practices in settings such as Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Cleveland Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente.

Core Competencies

The Collaborative articulated core competency domains that were adopted and adapted by organizations including Association of American Medical Colleges, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Dental Education Association, Association of Schools and Health Professions, and American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. These domains—teamwork, roles/responsibilities, communication, and values/ethics—drew upon pedagogical scholarship from faculty at University of Washington, University of Toronto, Duke University, and University of Pennsylvania. Competency frameworks were referenced in accreditation standards by bodies such as Carnegie Foundation, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and informed curricular reforms in programs at Columbia University, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and New York University.

Programs and Initiatives

Initiatives include development of educational toolkits, simulation-based curricula, faculty development workshops, and large-scale pilot projects in collaboration with institutions such as Simulation Training Program at Laerdal, Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and academic centers like Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. Projects have partnered with public health agencies including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and community organizations such as American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders for intersectoral learning experiences. The Collaborative has sponsored symposia and worked with journals like Academic Medicine, Journal of Interprofessional Care, and Medical Education to disseminate evidence, and has linked efforts with global actors including World Health Organization and Global Health Workforce Alliance to support cross-national exchange.

Governance and Membership

Governance incorporates representatives from member associations and uses advisory structures similar to models at Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and American Council on Education. Member organizations have included major professional associations such as American Medical Association, Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, American Psychological Association, Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, and specialty societies from American College of Physicians to American Academy of Pediatrics. Collaborative leadership has engaged deans and program directors from institutions like Yale School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Emory University School of Medicine, and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Impact and Evaluation

Evaluations have examined changes in learner attitudes, team performance in simulated scenarios, and patient outcomes in pilot implementations at sites including Veterans Health Administration, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and community health networks affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Research published in outlets such as Journal of Interprofessional Care, Academic Medicine, BMJ Quality & Safety, and Health Affairs has assessed fidelity, scalability, and links to accreditation outcomes. Impact assessments have used methods from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program evaluation guidance and measurement tools developed in partnership with scholars at University of Toronto and University of Washington. Ongoing challenges include integrating competency assessment into licensure frameworks like those overseen by National Board of Medical Examiners and addressing workforce policy issues highlighted by World Health Organization and national policymaking bodies.

Category:Health professional education organizations