Teaching interprofessional collaborative care skills using a blended learning approach

A blended learning approach using both asynchronous and synchronous learning was designed to overcome common barriers to interprofessional education (IPE). Health care professional learners are expected to meet the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice set forth by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), to better prepare them for team-based care with the goal of improving patient safety and population health outcomes. Our curricular resource describes a longitudinal curriculum designed to provide knowledge and skills application towards meeting IPEC competencies for early learners of five graduate-level health professional programs (dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy) at a large academic medical center. Many barriers to implementation of IPE curricula have been reported, including scheduling, space and time for training, matching levels of learners, faculty development, and institutional buy-in. The format of the curriculum consisted of five quarterly sessions comprised of a one-hour online module for content delivery, and a 2-hr facilitated face-to-face small group session for skills application. Each session addressed one of the IPEC competency domains, including: interprofessional collaborative practice, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, conflict management, and leadership/membership. Teaching strategies included expert interviews, videos, reflections, pair-share, role play, and group debrief. Interprofessional facilitators were matched with a group of 10–12 interprofessional learners. Learners completed the online module and pre-session assignments prior to the face-to-face sessions, and an online evaluation following the face-to-face sessions. Over 500 learners participated in the curriculum. Overall learners rated the sessions highly in achieving session objectives, and in general rated the value of the face-to-face sessions higher than the online modules.