Leveling "Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice" for Learners

Abstract

Interprofessional education, where students from two or more health professions learn from, with, and about one another, is one approach to prepare health professional learners for the collaborative practice-ready workforce currently desired in health care. Collaborative, interprofessional practice is necessary to provide safe, high quality, accessible, patient-centered care with improved outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. A review of the literature related to interprofessional education, competency-based education, and use of interprofessional education competencies in curriculum design is provided. To guide educators in developing interprofessional education experiences for health professional learners, the "Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice" has been developed. Additionally, the University of Toronto Core Competencies Framework provides motivation for educators to level (i.e., beginning, intermediate, or advanced) appropriate learning activities for different learners, based on their developmental stage. The purpose of this study was to gain consensus of interprofessional education experts on the leveling of interprofessional education competencies for health care learners using a Delphi approach. Eighteen panel experts completed the first round with 14 of the 18 completing the second and third rounds. All but one of the 39 Interprofessional Education Collaborative competencies were designated as beginning, intermediate, or advanced learners by experts in the field of interprofessional education. The results of the Delphi study provide a blueprint that utilized a developmental approach for planned, leveled interprofessional education learning experiences. Educators may use the suggestions of this expert group to develop educational offerings that are appropriate for different levels of learners, built on a developmental approach. Additionally, this study provides an important contribution to the interprofessional education literature, utilizing expert advice on the appropriate design of interprofessional learning opportunities for different levels of health professions learners.