Interprofessional Education

IPE Page Card

AACN's IPE Strategy

Lead innovation in academic nursing that promotes team- based, interprofessional health care.

Interprofessional education (IPE) occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Once students understand how to work interprofessionally, they are ready to enter the workplace as a member of the collaborative practice team. This is a key step in moving health systems from fragmentation to a position of strength.

 

IPEC Competencies V3

Review the 2023 IPEC Core Competencies

Released on November 20, 2023, the IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Version 3 serves as a foundation to structure and strengthen curricular and co-curricular activities to encourage team-based care and improve community health. View full announcement here

Download the Latest IPEC Competencies

IPE Websites

Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC)
Established in 2009, IPEC is a coalition of 21 national health professions education associations committed to advancing interprofessional learning experiences and helping prepare future health professionals for enhanced team-based care of patients and improved population health outcomes.

IPEC Teaching and Learning Resources
This working collection of available resources features teaching and learning resources regarding IPE for collaborative practice.

IPEC Archived Webinars
These free, dynamic webinars are open to all AACN members.

Excellence in Interprofessional Education Collaboration Award
Annually given by IPEC and USPHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health, this joint award recognizes multidisciplinary efforts to impact community health. The overall winner(s) receive a $2,000 travel stipend and their award plaque at the annual Summer IPEC Member Meeting in Washington, DC, and present a national IPEC webinar on their project and findings.

IPEC Interprofessional Education and Patient Care Scoping Review
In 2020, IPEC partnered with the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) to assist in developing and executing a scoping review to evaluate the evidence linking IPE interventions to improving the delivery of safe and effective patient care.

Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC)
A coalition of eleven leading health professions organizations, including AACN, IPC focuses on developing and sharing educational resources related to assessment of interprofessional professionalism. 

Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education
Global Forum is an ongoing, convening activity of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that brings together stakeholders from multiple nations and professions to network, discuss and illuminate issues within health professional education.

National Academies of Practice (NAP)
NAP is an interdisciplinary group of practitioners dedicated to advancing interprofessional healthcare by fostering collaboration and advocating policies in the best interest of individuals and communities.

National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education
The National Center offers and supports evaluation, research, data and evidence that ignites the field of interprofessional practice and education and leads to better care, added value, and healthier communities.

Online Interprofessional Module on Foodborne Outbreak - Navigating a Foodborne Outbreak: Preparation for Interprofessional Practice
This free, self-paced, interactive, online teaching module demonstrates the importance of interprofessional practice among health professionals to improve and protect population health. 

National Collaborative for Improving the Clinical Learning Environment (NCICLE)
NCICLE provides a forum for organizations committed to improving the educational experience and patient care outcomes within clinical learning environments. 

Clinical Teaching and Learning Experiences without Physical Patient Contact
Designed by diverse educators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this working collection features clinical learning experiences, which can be readily used or easily adapted for specific, local settings, without the need for physical patient contact.

InterprofessionalResearch.Global (IPR.Global)
IPR.Global is a special interest group of the Interprofessional.Global, promotes and advocates for evidence-informed policies and practices through fostering and facilitating theory-driven, methodologically rigorous IPE and collaborative practice research.

Additional Resources

IPC Assessment Behaviors, Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA) Instrument, and Toolkit
These resources aim to evaluate an entry-level health professional’s demonstration of professionalism when interacting with members of other health professions.

MedEdPORTAL
This portal contains high quality, peer-reviewed, competency-based learning modules for interprofessional health education.

Compassionate Scholars with Schwartz Center

Excellence in Interprofessional Education Collaboration Award​
The IPEC Excellence in IPE Collaboration Award showcases multidisciplinary efforts to impact community health. The award is presented to a team of health-professional school based collaborators (faculty, administrators, and/or students) who have innovatively addressed a public health issue while making a lasting impact on the community’s health. 

Reports and Publications

Zorek J, Ragucci K, Eickhoff J, Najjar G, et al. Development and validation of the IPEC Institutional Assessment InstrumentJournal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. December 2022, 29: 100553.

Khalili H, Lackie K, Langlois S, Wetzlmair LC, & Working Group. Global IPE Situational Analysis Result Final Report. InterprofessionalResearch.Global. 2022.

Hammer D, Anderson MB, Brunson WD, Grus C, et al. Defining and Measuring Construct of Interprofessional Professionalism. Journal of Allied Health. Summer 2012; 41(2):e49-e53.

Holtman MS, Frost JS, Hammer DP, McGuinn K, Nunez LM. Interprofessional professionalism: Linking professionalism and interprofessional careJournal of Interprofessional Care. 2011, 25:383-385.