Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Domains*

Values / Ethics for Interprofessional practice: Values that should undergird relationships among the professions, joint relationships with patients / clients, the quality of cross-professional exchange, and interprofessional ethical considerations

  • Mutual respect
  • Honesty and trusting relationships
  • Diversity and expertise of each profession
  • Interprofessional ethics

Roles and responsibilities for collaborative practice: understanding of how professional roles and responsibility complement each other in patient centered and community oriented care

  • Understand own role and role of others
  • Communicate roles and responsibilities with patient /client
  • Communicate with other professionals
  • Must maintain expertise and competency
  • Engage others to meet patient / client needs
  • Recognize abilities and limitations

Interprofessional communication:  Being able to effectively communicate with other healthcare providers is important given the movement toward better integrated care

  • Choose effective communication tools
  • Communicate in a form that is understandable limiting jargon
  • Listen actively
  • Give timely sensitive feedback
  • Use respectful language

Teamwork and team based practice: Being a good team player working towards the shared goals for care with patients or communities.

  • Reduce gaps and redundancies in care
  • Avoid errors
  • Shared problem solving, decision making, and accountability
  • Apply leadership practices that support collaborative practice
  • Constructively manage disagreements / conflict

* Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an epert panel. Washington D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative.