This guide contains Interprofessional Education (IPE) resources available at UTHSC. These resources include the Interprofessional Student Council, an overview of CHIPS, selected eBooks, and highlighted Journals. In addition to the resources on our campus, we have explored Interprofessional Education at our peer institutions, as well as professional development opportunities for Interprofessional Education.
Interprofessional education (IPE) is a critical approach for preparing students to enter the health workforce, where teamwork and collaboration are important competencies. IPE has been promoted by a number of international health organizations, as part of a redesign of healthcare systems to promote interprofessional teamwork, to enhance the quality of patient care, and improve health outcomes.
van Diggele, C., Roberts, C., Burgess, A. et al. Interprofessional education: tips for design and implementation. BMC Med Educ 20 (Suppl 2), 455 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02286-zUTHSC is committed to the health and well-being of Tennesseans and the global community by translating research into practice, utilizing expertise across the colleges and university units, and developing health care leaders through high-quality, collaborative, team-based patient and family centered care.
UTHSC is recognized as a national leader in health care training and delivery through high-quality Interprofessional team-based and collaborative practice.
The Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) is a building for healthcare simulation and interprofessional education. CHIPS serves residents and students from six colleges at UTHSC: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy. CHIPS strives to train together in simulation settings to develop skills in delivering team-based health care, which is the proven model for the highest quality care today.
Each floor of the three-story building is dedicated to a different aspect of simulation training. The first floor includes skills labs with multiple stations to allow students to focus on clinical skills and assessments. there is also a simulated home environment, where students can practice delivering in-home patient care and a space dedicated to virtual simulations. The second floor houses a simulated acute-care setting resembling a hospital environment. The third floor features the Robert J. Kaplan, MD, Center for Clinical Skills and a simulated community pharmacy. To learn more about CHIP, visit: Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation
Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential in healthcare because it prepares students from different health disciplines to learn with, from, and about one another in order to provide coordinated, patient-centered care. By fostering collaboration and communication among future physicians, pharmacists, nurses, therapists, and other providers, IPE helps break down professional silos that can lead to fragmented care. Research shows that interprofessional training improves teamwork, reduces medical errors, and enhances health outcomes, especially in complex cases requiring multiple perspectives. Ultimately, IPE equips healthcare professionals with the skills to deliver safer, more efficient, and more compassionate care in today’s team-based clinical environments.