Interprofessional Education Academy
Welcome to the College of Health Profession’s Interprofessional Education Academy Website
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Today’s healthcare incorporates a team-based approach to addressing patient care to improve health outcomes. This team includes the patient, the patient’s family/caregivers, and the patient’s healthcare providers. According to the WHO document of Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education (IPE), “ Collaborative practice happens when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together with patients [and their caregivers] to deliver the highest quality of care.”
It stands to reason that healthcare professional students should have IPE opportunities so that they will be prepared to work competently in collaborative practice settings. According to the WHO’s Framework for Action for IPE, ” Interprofessional Education occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.” Interprofessional collaborative practice occurs when multiple health professionals work together to assess, plan and execute health interventions for optimal patient healthcare outcomes. The Institute of Medicine describes these outcomes to include enhanced quality of patient care, lower costs, decreased length of stays, and a reduction in medication errors.
The COHP IPE team believes that IPE is vital to the knowledge and training for a collaborative practice-ready health professions workforce focused on responsible healthcare. The geographical location of The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley’s College of Health Professions (COHP) along the Texas-Mexico border requires the IPE training will be distinguished by the inclusion of training that addresses low literacy, high poverty, and a population where Spanish is the primary language of the majority.
Thus, it is the goal of this Academy:
(1) to provide opportunities for students and faculty for IPE training and IPE experiences to transform healthcare for the predominantly Hispanic underserved South Texas community and beyond.
(2) to provide training and resources for interprofessional research projects related to the health sciences and interprofessional education.
(3) to provide support for partnership projects investigating interprofessional approaches in clinical education and provision of clinical services
(4) to provide support for innovative interprofessional curriculum initiatives and resources.
2021-2022 COHP IPE Committee:
Dr. Lydia Aguilera, Co-chair
Dr. Lin Wang Co-Chair
Eva Anger, Occupational Therapy, Committee member
Lily Garza, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Committee member
Kim Garcia, Health and Biomedical Sciences Committee member
David Garcia, Health and Human Performance Committee member
Diana Paz, Physician Assistant Studies Committee member
Billy Perez, Health and Human Performance Committee member
Doreen Garza, Border Health Office Committee member
Jeong Kim, Committee Member