Over 45 faculty and administrative leaders from the College of Education and Health Professions recently convened to brainstorm and discuss the integration of interprofessional education across the college's diverse programs and departments.

The college held a day-long interprofessional education workshop led by Indiana University's Barabara Maxwell, an associate dean and director of Indiana's Interprofessional Practice and Education Center.

"The COEHP Interprofessional Education Council was so excited to host this workshop for all COEHP faculty," said Luzita Vela, the council's chairperson and Master of Athletic Training program director. "Our mission is to create a community that embraces, embodies and enacts the principles of interprofessional practice. This is important because research consistently shows that professionals who use interprofessional collaborative practice enhance outcomes for people, populations and professionals."

Interprofessional education and practice involves preparing students to work with professions outside their immediate area of study. Through interprofessional practice, professionals can be better equipped to collaborate across disciplines.

The College of Education and Health Professions established its Interprofessional Education Council in the fall of 2022. With representation from various areas of the college, the council's members aim to educate and train faculty, students and staff in best practices for interprofessional education. Creating a community that embraces and promotes interprofessional practice is one of the WE CARE strategic plan's action items. 

"COEHP's diversity is a strength for us, especially as we think about interprofessional collaborative practice, since many of the complex challenges we see in schools, healthcare and communities require a team-based approach to be managed effectively," Vela said.

The day-long workshop guided faculty and leadership through developing a better understanding of interprofessional education, goal-setting, exploring different IPE frameworks and, finally, constructing a detailed college-wide interprofessional education plan that can be implemented in the long term.

Faculty between the education and health professions sides of the college were strategically grouped together throughout the day to spark interprofessional dialogue and ideas.

"It was a gift to have designated time for COEHP faculty to step out of our silos and intentionally develop new relationships over a shared vision," said Emily Richardson, a clinical instructor of nursing in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. "I was encouraged by the existing interdisciplinary efforts across the college and thankful for the group-based brainstorming sessions to build potential new endeavors."

"The workshop left me extremely hopeful for robust interprofessional experiences for our students and community," she added.