Curriculum Update: Updates from the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC): Commitment to Methodological Rigor and Inclusivity in Research and Core Competencies Revision
In December 2022, Interprofessional.global, the Global Confederation for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, hosted leaders from the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) who provided an overview of current initiatives:
- Scoping review of evidence linking IPE interventions to improved delivery of safe and effective patient care
- Development of the IPEC Institutional Assessment Instrument
- Revision of the IPEC Core Competencies
Links: webinar SLIDES and RECORDING and Interprofessional.global
Intern Spotlight – VIPE Experience
This virtual interprofessional education case discussion (VIPE) held on October 10, 2022 provided an insightful and unique experience for the students involved. Throughout our time in pharmacy school, we participated in several CIPE events. However, all of the patient cases that we collaborated on involved patients from the United States. This case was unique because it involved a patient from an African country. Therefore, there were different factors to consider when making decisions regarding the patient care, and thankfully, there were students from African countries who attended this session. We learned that there are differences in the traditions practiced, availability for resources, and medications used. For example, it is common for patients from African countries to use herbal medicines to help with disease management. In previous IPE case discussions, we did not consider the use of herbal medicines; however, for this patient, we had to use the Natural Herbs and Medicine database to evaluate drug interactions between the patient’s herbal remedy and their other medications. Natural Herbs and Medicine is a database that some pharmacists have access to, and it is a tool that can be used to see what herbal remedies are commonly used for and what medications they have been shown to interact with. Additionally, this patient was suffering from cognitive decline, so safety and care was something to consider when evaluating for discharge. However, we learned that there is limited availability for patients in skilled nursing facilities in Africa, and the nurses are extremely overworked. We also learned that it is traditional in African countries for the children to take care of their parents. Therefore, we had to consider these factors when deciding who would take care of the patient after discharge. Through this experience, we learned about differences in medical care across the world. Esther will apply these learning points throughout her rotations while taking care of various patient populations, and Brianna will apply differences that she learned during the session in her last clinical Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation in a hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.
About VIPE: CIPE partners with Virtual Interprofessional Education (VIPE), an independent organization that provides virtual interprofessional case study discussions on a variety of topics throughout the year. If interested in more information, please contact CIPE director Heather Hageman at hagemanh@wustl.edu.
We thank Esther and Brianna for sharing their insight with us. VIPE offers learners additional opportunities for interprofessional education. We understand how important IPE is, but take it from a recent APPE rotation CIPE intern, Jasmin Selimovic, who shared his thoughts about CIPE’s Phase I curriculum:
“The CIPE curriculum made a major impact on my ability to connect with my hospital rounding team during clinical rotations. Having had a prior CIPE encounter with one of the resident physicians made it easier for me to confidently join the rounding team as a pharmacy student. I also used the communication tools learned in CIPE, saying “yes, and…” instead of “yes, but…”. Instead of shutting down someone’s contribution toward collaboration, we are adding to it or building it up, while fixing anything that might have been incorrect. Such tools spread a culture of mutual respect and equality which are important to me.”
Scholarship Corner
The CIPE’s e-presentation at the 15th Annual Barnes-Jewish Hospital Multidisciplinary Research Conference in October 2022, Interprofessional Teaching Certificate Programs for Clinicians, Faculty & Trainees, describes the two interprofessional teaching certificate programs of CIPE: the Master Interprofessional Educator (MIE) Certificate for faculty and practicing clinicians, and the newly-developed Student-Resident Teaching Certificate for senior-level health profession students and medicine and pharmacy residents/fellows. To date, we have inducted 35 MIEs and awarded seven Student-Resident Certificates, and have another 14 and five individuals, respectively, in process this academic year. Check out our recent CIPE scholarship here.
The CIPE would also like to celebrate the Washington University Living Well Center on the release of their article, Provider-Perceived Value of Interprofessional Team Meetings as a Core Element of a Lifestyle Medicine Program: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of One Center’s Experience. The Living Well Center graciously led a CIPE-Sponsored Professional Development workshop with us in Fall 2022 as well.
The CHW Coalition Website is LIVE!
The St. Louis Community Health Worker Coalition began as a Workforce Partnership with the St. Louis Integrated Health Network, with goals to advance four key regional strategies:
- Build capacity and formalize institutional CHW leadership
- Advocate for CHW long-term sustainability
- Develop a workforce strategy that supports training and career pipeline
- Demonstrate the value of CHWs in the St. Louis region through data
Through this partnership, the Community Health Worker Coalition expanded to a grass-roots organization and the only nonprofit in Missouri to be governed by Community Health Workers, operating across all five levels of the socioeconomic model. The CHW Coalition’s mission is to scale and sustain the community health worker workforce through leadership development and the exploration of nontraditional workforce financing options.
The CIPE continues to strengthen our relationship with the Coalition. This summer, our Health Professional Student Leadership Council (HPSLC) helped the Coalition clean their new St. Louis City headquarters, and more recently they ran a clothing drive for clients of Rejuvenating Comprehensive Services (RCS) which hosts the County headquarters for the Coalition. The CIPE’s public health intern, Beesan Daoud, has been working closely with RCS Executive Director, Keely Finney, LCSW, CHW, to develop a nutrition course for her clients as well.
Check out their new website here. Congratulations, St Louis CHW Coalition friends!
Be an Interprofessional Educator
This year, we awarded three Student/Resident Teaching Certificates and we will induct at least 12 Master Interprofessional Educators (MIE) in May.
Our MIEs who facilitated in the CIPE Phase I curriculum had a greater level of confidence than those who have not been through the program (on a scale of 1=strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree, 4.9 for MIE vs 4.5 for other facilitators; p<0.01).
“Earning the Student IPE Teaching Certificate was an amazing experience. Through excellent lectures, active learning, and workshops, I gained invaluable knowledge and experience and how to be an effective teacher. I also had a chance to begin developing my own curriculum for my chosen topic. I learned how to become the most effective communicator possible, especially in an interprofessional setting. I also had an opportunity to practice my new teaching and communication skills by teaching a team of interprofessional learners. Additionally, during my residency interviews, many interviewers have inquired about this unique certificate and responded positively after discussing it.”
-Austin Hannemann, WashU Medicine Student
