"IPE occurs when two or more professions learn about, with, and from each other in order to improve collaboration and the quality of care.” Centre on Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE, 2002)

IPE for health professions is a major movement in our changing health and education environments and through which there are many benefits for patients, health care providers, students, and quality and rewarding work environments.

Collaborative Practice Competencies
1. Patient Centred Care
2. Role Clarification
3. Team Functioning
4. Collaborative Leadership
5. Interprofessional Communication
6. Interprofessional Conflict Resolution

Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine is committed to the integration of interprofessional education opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students, using the Can MEDS collaborator role learning objectives as a foundation. The CanMEDS collaborator role competencies, created by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) have been adopted by the College of Family Medicine of Canada (CFPC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) for undergraduate medical students. Historically, the CanMEDS collaborator role was taught in didactic seminars or at the bedside using an apprenticeship model as the teaching method. This time-honoured method has now been replaced by requirements for explicit learning opportunities for students and residents from different professions to learn about, with, and from each other, to increase professional role clarity for shared care and to improve strategies for conflict resolution. The evidence is strong that patient-centred collaborative practice will enhance patient safety, quality of care and will improve career satisfaction.

Accreditation

National accreditation standards for IPE have been harmonized for 6 health professions including medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy and social work. http://www.cihc.ca/aiphe/

Dr Heather Dean is the IPE Lead, Faculty of Medicine. She is a member of the University IPE liaison committee. There are over 20 other faculty members, staff and medical students actively participating in the 6 IPE working groups of the University of Manitoba IPE initiative. For information about the programs and working groups, please contact Dr Heather Dean at 787-1316 or hdean@exchange.hsc.ca.