Interprofessional Continuing Education
Revised January 2020
Definitions
Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP):
'A partnership between a team of health professionals and a client in a participatory, collaborative and coordinated approach to share decision-making around health/social issues.' (Orchard, Curran & Kabene 2002)
Interprofessional Education (IPE):
'When two or more professions learn with, from, and about each other in order to improve collaboration and the quality of care.' (Barr 2002)
Interprofessional Client-Centred Collaborative Practice (IPCCCP)
'A partnership between a team of health professionals and a client where the client retains control over his/her care and is provided access to the knowledge and skills of team members to arrive at a realistic team shared plan of care and access to the resources to achieve the plan.' (Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative 2010)
Position Statement
Ausmed Education Pty Ltd has been a provider of continuing professional development for health professionals for over 30 years. Our core principle is that education is the means to continual improvement in the healthcare of the community.
While the aim of Ausmed Education has been to meet the continuing professional development (CPD) needs of nurses and midwives throughout their working lives, it recognises that interprofessional collaborative practice is more than ever essential to the effective function of healthcare and outcomes for the community.
The Importance of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
The increasing diversity of the population, the challenges of caring for the increasing numbers of people with complex chronic and social illnesses, reduced contact with healthcare professionals, and the mounting costs of healthcare are important factors in the provision of healthcare today and into the future.
Evidence is mounting that interprofessional practice models are effective in improving patient outcomes, increasing patient and provider satisfaction, and decreasing healthcare costs across practice settings. However, there are still multiple barriers to the acceptance and development of interprofessional collaboration.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2010) identifies interprofessional education as involving two or more professions learning about, from and with each other in order to effectively collaborate and improve health outcomes. It further states that one aspect of a collaborative practice-ready health worker is someone who has learned how to work in an interprofessional team.
While the interprofessional collaboration is being shaped in some of the undergraduate education arena and through simulation programs, there is more than can be achieved through alternative continuing professional development opportunities.
Ausmed Education’s Position
Ausmed Education supports the position that continuing professional development is a lifelong process, essential to the delivery of safe and effective healthcare by all healthcare professionals in practice settings.
Interprofessional continuing education in healthcare is a means for improving interprofessional collaborative practice and can positively improve and ensure more effective care experiences for the community.
Therefore, Ausmed Education will provide, where possible, evidence-based and relevant interprofessional continuing education programs within a standards framework that
- are properly planned, implemented and evaluated;
- provide substantive and accessible professional learning experiences; and
- foster interprofessional collaboration
References:
Barr, H 2002, 'Interprofessional Education Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow', CAIPE Publications, viewed 17 January 2020, https://www.caipe.org/resources/publications/caipe-publications/caipe-2002-interprofessional-education-today-yesterday-tomorrow-barr-h.
Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative 2010, 'A National Inteprofessional Competency Framework', quoted in Orchard & Bainbridge 2015, 'What is Competence in Client-Centered Collaborative Practice?', viewed 17 January 2020, https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=nursingpub
Orchard, CA, Curran, V & Kabene, S 2005, 'Creating a Culture for Interdisciplinary Collaborative Professional Practice', Medical Education Online, vol. 10, no. 11, p. 1, viewed 17 January 2020, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0eeb/2043c89008c3945ac5e4683546ba09e28251.pdf
World Health Organisation 2010, Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice , WHO, Geneva, p. 13, viewed 17 January 2020, https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70185/WHO_HRH_HPN_10.3_eng.pdf;jsessionid=95A88129013EC08B81E728D55CC4A7C0?sequence=1
Ausmed Education Pty Ltd 2020