The McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences is highly committed to interprofessional education. Under the leadership of the Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER), the Undergraduate MD Program supports students in interprofessional experiences throughout their training.
As such, medical students will demonstrate IPE competencies prior to graduation. Our goals with respect to IPE align with the Centre for the Advancement of IPE in Great Britain (CAIPE), who defines IPE as: "when two or more professionals learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care".
In 2010, the World Health Organization recognized Interprofessional Education / Interprofessional Collaboration (IPE/IPC) as an, "important strategy for strengthening healthcare systems worldwide". McMaster's Faculty of Health Sciences and the Undergraduate MD Program have embraced CAIPE's model of IPE outlined below:
IPE Competencies: Graduates will:
- Be able to describe their own professional roles and responsibilities and the scope of practice of other health professionals to colleagues as well as patients.
- Know when and how to involve other professions in patient care appropriate to their roles, responsibilities, and competence.
- Collaborate with other professions to establish common goals, provide care for individuals and their caregivers, facilitate shared decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution.
- Contribute to team effectiveness by sharing information, listening attentively, respecting others opinions, demonstrating flexibility, using a common language, providing & responding to feedback from others