Hugh Barr PhD*
Emeritus Professor and Honorary Fellow, the University of Westminster, UK and President,
the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education, London, UK
- Corresponding Author:
- Professor Hugh
Barr
Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education
PO Box 680
Fareham PO14 9NH, UK
Email: barrh@westminster.ac.uk
Interprofessional
education (IPE) is dedicated to the improvement of education, practice and
outcomes for patients,[1] as paper after paper in this issue
exemplifies. It is a tangible recognition that professional education for
medicine, health and social care, notwithstanding advances made, falls short in
creating the collaborative workforce needed to effect improvements unless
and until the professions learn with, from and about each other.[2]
No one profession can respond adequately to the demands of today’s
practice, least of all in primary care where more and more services are
located, as the dependency needs of individuals, families and com-munities
escalate, fuelled by social and economic dis-ruption and, in many countries,
ageing populations. To respond by reorganising services is not enough without
also generating opportunities for workers, across the professions, to compare
the implemen-tation of policies for their respective roles and re-lationships,
and prepare for new responsibilities.[3] Methods are being invoked, notably appreciate inquiry to
help them recall good practice to motivate change,[4] and collaborative inquiry[5] and continuous quality im-provement[6] to engage members of the professions systematically in reviewing, revising and improving services.
Lessons learned are being fed back into pre-regis-tration IPE where
outcomes are now enshrined in value-laden, competency based frameworks designed
to drive up standards in education and practice for the next generation.[7–9] The quality of IPE must indeed be raised to that
of the best, for example, by preparing teachers for their facilitation role,[10,11] devising inno-vative models
for practice learning,[12] exploiting ad-vances in educational
technology[13] and working with education commissioners
and regulators to build requirements for IPE into those for professional
education.[14]
Resources contract as patient and public expec-tations rise. IPE, with
its relatively high costs for small group learning, is vulnerable as
educational budgets are cut, but safe so long as it continues to demonstrate
that it is part of the solution rather than the problem in delivering effective
health and social care in straitened times.
Peer Review
Commissioned;
not externally Peer Reviewed.
Conflicts of Interest
None.
References
- World Health Organization (WHO). Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Geneva: WHO, 2010.
- Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Edu-cation (CAIPE). Interprofessional education – a defin-ition, 2002. www.caipe.org.uk (accessed 1/5/12).
- Barr H and Gray R. Interprofessional education: learn-ing together in health and social care. In: Walsh K (ed) A Textbook of Medical Education. Oxford: Oxford Uni-versity Press, 2012.
- Cooperrider DL and Whitney D. Appreciate Inquiry: a positive revolution in change. San Francisco: Berret-Koehler, 2005.
- Reason P. Participation in Human Inquiry. London: Sage, 1994.
- Wilcock P, Campion-Smith C and Elston S. Practice Professional Development Planning: a guide for primary care. Oxford: Radcliffe Medical Press, 2003.
- Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. A national competency framework for interprofessional collaboration. www.cihc.ca/files/CIHC_IPCompetencies_ Feb1210.pdf (accessed 1/5/12).
- Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: report of an expert panel. Washington DC: Interprofessional Collaborative, 2011.
- Combined Universities Interprofessional Learning Unit. Interprofessional Capability Framework 2010 Mini-Guide. London: Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Health Sciences and Practice, 2010.
- Anderson E, Cox D and Thorpe L. Preparation of educators involved in interprofessional education. Journal of Interprofessional Care 2009;23(1):81–94.
- Barr H and Coyle J. Facilitating interprofessional learn-ing. In: Loftus S et al (eds) Educating Health Profes-sionals: becoming a university teacher. Rotterdam: Sense Publishing, 2012.
- Barr H and Brewer M. Interprofessional practice based education. In: Higgs J, Barnett JR, Billett S, Hutchings M and Trede F (eds) PBE Perspectives and Strategies. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2012.
- Barr H, Helme M and D’Avray L. Developing Interprofessional Education in Health and Social Care Courses in the United Kingdom. Paper 12. York: The Higher Education Academy, Health Sciences and Prac-tice, 2011. www.health.heacademy.ac.uk (accessed 1/5/ 12).
- Barr H and Low H for CAIPE. Developing Inter-professional Learning in Pre-Registration Education Pro-grammes. London: CAIPE, 2012. www.caipe.org.uk (accessed 1/5/12).