The RFUMS Quality Initiative Project – Poster and Overview (PDF)

Project Description

Our three-year project focused on the interprofessional (IP) model for graduate-level healthcare and biomedical science education and research that is mission-driven and an area of distinction at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Students in all programs of study are taught and assessed for learning the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes found in the four core competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, developed by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC, 2009). Interprofessional learning occurs through classroom instruction, clinical education, co-curricular learning, research, and other programs, services, and activities of the university.

This project has served as a catalyst for elevating the assessment of these outcomes to a higher level of integration, visibility, and application while creating a sustainable university-wide culture of assessment. The culmination of the project is a comprehensive action plan of seven categories of recommendations presented to the President's Cabinet, the campus community as a whole, and to the Baldwin Institute for Interprofessional Education to address issues related to interprofessionalism as it is taught, modeled, and assessed throughout the university. These recommendations are data-driven and both broad and specific, attempting to cover all of the most vital issues raised in surveys and focus groups involving students, faculty, and staff/administration.

Project Goals

1. What is the university-wide understanding of interprofessionalism (IP)?
2. How is IP evident across the university? (patterns of evidence for IP)
3. How do academic programs and nontraditional learning opportunities incorporate the IP competencies?
4. What are the successes and challenges associated with implementing the IP competencies?
5. Develop and present an action plan to enhance interprofessionalism at RFUMS that includes the full implementation and sustainability of interprofessional learning outcomes for all academic programs.

Core Competencies of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC)

The IPEC Competencies are the foundation for project content, activities, and methodology. (IPEC Competencies, 2016 updated version)

• Values/ethics for Interprofessional Practice
  Work with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values.
• Roles and Responsibilities
  Use the knowledge of one’s own role and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of patients and to promote and advance the health of populations.
• Interprofessional Communication
  Communicate with patients, families, communities and professionals in health and other fields in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease.
• Teams and Teamwork
  Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care and population health programs and policies that are safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.

The Action Plan

Template for Recommendations

• Recommended Strategy
• Recommendation Theme/Category
• Desired Outcomes and Impact
• How It May Improve Student Learning
• Suggested Responsible Parties
• Level of Priority – Ranking 1, 2, or 3
• Resources Needed/Use of Existing Resources
• Methods/Measures for Evaluating the Strategy
• Additional Details

Seven Categories of Recommendations

• Curriculum and Programming
• Communication and Outreach
• Leadership
• Faculty and Professional Development
• Recognition and Incentives for IP Work
• IP Clinical Training and Exposure for Students
• One University Approach/Collaboration