Are we truly creating interprofessional experiences, or are we simply bringing different disciplines together? That question keeps surfacing in conversations with fellow educators. Healthcare is inherently collaborative. Nurses work alongside physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, radiologic technologists, social workers, and many other professionals to provide safe, patient-centered care. Preparing learners for these collaborative relationships before they enter practice is one of the primary goals of interprofessional education (IPE).
IPE can take many forms, including classroom discussions, case-based learning, service-learning, clinical experiences, quality improvement projects, and simulation. Regardless of the educational strategy, the goal remains the same: preparing learners to communicate, collaborate, and function effectively as members of an interprofessional team. Frameworks such as the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies and TeamSTEPPS® provide valuable guidance when developing IPE activities by emphasizing communication, teamwork, professional roles, and shared responsibility for patient care.
Recently, while presenting on IPE simulations involving nursing and radiography students, I had the opportunity to discuss IPE with educators from a variety of institutions. Those conversations reinforced how easy it is to equate multiprofessional participation with meaningful interprofessional education. There is an important distinction. This kind of learning requires intentional design that allows learners to learn "about, with, and from" one another while contributing the unique expertise of their profession. Every learner should leave feeling the experience was designed for their profession, not simply that they were present to make the activity more realistic for someone else.
Simulation provides one of the most powerful settings for IPE because it allows learners to practice communication, teamwork, advocacy, and clinical decision-making in realistic patient care situations. The Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice®: Simulation-Enhanced Interprofessional Education reminds us that meaningful Sim IPE requires intentional planning, meaningful participation and collaboration, and shared and linked objectives. Simply inviting multiple professions into the simulation lab is not enough to create an interprofessional learning experience.
One example from my own program involves an interprofessional intraoperative simulation involving nursing and radiography students. While each discipline has profession-specific objectives, both groups rely on communication, teamwork, advocacy, and patient safety to successfully manage an unexpected sponge count discrepancy. Watching learners begin to see one another as teammates working towards a common goal, rather than separate professions, is one of the most rewarding parts of these experiences.
One question I encourage educators to ask when designing any IPE activity is: Could one profession be removed without significantly changing the learning? If the answer is yes, the activity may be more multi-professional than interprofessional. Asking this early can help ensure every participating profession has meaningful objectives and opportunities to contribute.
Designing true IPE is not without challenges. Coordinating schedules, aligning curricula, limited access to other professions, balancing learning objectives, and managing resources all require thoughtful planning. In our own case, that meant working collaboratively with radiography faculty to find the one block in both programs’ semesters where students were free at the same time and building simulation around that window rather than trying to force an ideal schedule. These barriers can often be overcome through collaboration, flexibility, and intentional design.
Whether planning a classroom activity, clinical/lab experience, or simulation, begin with patient-centered outcomes rather than profession specific tasks. Develop meaningful objectives for every participating discipline, involve faculty or experts from each profession during planning, and provide opportunities for learners to reflect on communication, teamwork, and collaborative practice. Small design decisions often make the difference between a multi-professional activity and a true IPE experience.
Don’t forget to think outside the box! Meaningful IPE doesn’t require learners to be in the same room. We recently began planning a collaboration with a medical school built around a very specific, very real gap: our nursing students fear communicating with providers, worried about sounding unprepared or not being taken seriously, and many still need to practice a clear SBAR. Meanwhile, the medical students on the other end fear giving orders, worried about coming across as harsh or not asking the right follow-up questions to give a full clinical picture. Neither group lacks knowledge; they lack practice with each other. By having them communicate virtually about a patient’s status and treatment plan, each side gets to practice the exact skill they’re afraid of, in a setting low-stakes enough to fail safely and try again.
Bringing professions together is just one step. Creating opportunities for learners to communicate, collaborate, and appreciate one another’s expertise is what transforms the experience. Our students won’t care for patients in professional silos.
As educators continue expanding IPE into their programs, resources such as the NLN Guide to Effective Interprofessional Education (IPE) Experiences in Nursing Education Toolkit, the IPEC Core Competencies, TeamSTEPPS®, and the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice® can provide valuable guidance.
I’d love to hear what IPE initiatives are working in your own program and what lessons you’ve learned along the way.