BE-ing Collaborative at IPEC

Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Council Meeting - June 2018
By: Katie Eliot PhD, RDN

Back in June, we had the incredible honor of attending the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Council meeting at the Association of American Medical Colleges headquarters in Washington, DC.   This bi-annual one-day meeting brings together IPE leaders from across the professions to discuss emerging issues in IPE and to stimulate thinking about future directions across the education continuum.

The summer meeting focused on the role of IPE in preparing students for “healthcare without walls” – in other words, as educators we need to be preparing our students to work in a health care system that provides care remotely when it can.  I am already dreaming about how shifts in our healthcare system will open opportunities for providers and patients to receive better coordinated care that is cost efficient and patient-centered!

One of the exciting reports from IPEC was on the initiatives related to health care provider well-being and resilience.  https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/.  This is a project aimed to raise the visibility of clinician stress and burnout and to develop evidence-based multidisciplinary solutions that will improve patient care by caring for the care giver.  Ultimately, this is a growing attempt at addressing the Quadruple Aim.

Another big push from IPEC is looking at the role of IPE in Opioid abuse.  All member institutions were asked to provide a statement on how their profession is addressing the opioid crisis.  Additionally, this year's IPEC/USPHS Interprofessional Education and Practice award winner, East Tennesee State University, was honored at the meeting where they presented on their program addressing substance abuse in their region.

Advice for engaging with stakeholders from East Tennessee State University.

What struck me the most about these statements was how pervasive the opioid crisis is across the healthcare system.  It seems all professions deal with opioid addiction in some way.  It was eye opening to me learn about how our interprofessional colleagues are preparing their future professionals to work in environments that provide care when faced with this challenge.  I think we are going to see extensive work in this area to come.

And, as always, there was a little bit of fun.  What a great day for a walk to the Capitol.  We are already getting excited about the next IPEC Council meeting in January 2019!