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Interprofessional Education (IPE)

The mission of ÎÞÂëÊÓƵ Atlantic University’s Interprofessional Education (IPE) program (2011-2016) is to enhance the well-being of the community by facilitating team-based care within a collaborative practice framework. An IPE program involves students from two or more professions learning about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.Ìý IPE occurs when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together with patients, families, caregivers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care. The Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (2011) include coming to understand each other’s roles, responsibilities, ethics, communication, and teamwork that provide the foundation for FAU’s IPE.Ìý

Participating in the program are medical students from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, traditional and accelerated nursing students from the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Master’s of Social Work students from the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, and Speech Language Pathology students from the College of Education, along with faculty who serve as facilitators. FAU’s IPE program consists of a series of interprofessional sessions in which students learn interactively in small teams through case scenarios.Ìý Sessions include a unique and innovative program called Senior Adult Geriatrics Education (SAGE), which consists of mentor visits in which student teams meet with a volunteer older person in the community to take a background history, conduct a series of geriatric assessments, and assess home safety risks. The sessions require students to develop knowledge and skills, while the mentor visits provide practical experience in which students learn about healthy aging by applying their evolving knowledge and skills. FAU’s IPE program is goal- and outcome-driven, aiming to prepare all health profession students to work together deliberatively. A common goal is to build a safer, more patient-centered health care system.Ìý

For more information, please contact Dr. Terry Eggenberger , Executive Director of Interprofessional Education, or visit our Office of the Provost IPE&P website.