The Interprofessional Teaching Clinic (IPTC) has been in existence at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) since August 2011. At this interprofessional primary care training site, student teams provide direct patient care under the supervision of faculty preceptors within the current reimbursement system. Currently, the IPTC runs for six half-days a week with one half-day a week dedicated to an interprofessional education curriculum. The program utilizes a shared Google calendar to organize and sustain efforts to bring students and their faculty preceptors from seven professions together at the point of primary care. The teams are composed of students from the KU Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Health Professions. In addition, PhD candidates in the KU Clinical Psychology program participate in direct patient care as a member of the student teams. KU School of Law students are available by consult via the KU Medical-Legal Partnership.
In addition to live interprofessional practice experiences, an IPE curriculum is offered on Tuesday afternoons. This curriculum consists of reflections and debriefs on team processes as well as participation in interprofessional learning activities. Live practice allows participants to apply lessons learned during the formal curriculum and re-engages students with their team members at the point of care.
During the academic year 2013-2014, the IPTC engaged 244 students from the University of Kansas Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Law to interprofessional collaboration at the point of primary care. In order to create this collaborative learning environment, faculty preceptors have participated in a faculty development program that was created to equip them with skills needed to blend interprofessional practice and education.
Using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) for pre and post-survey data from program participants, the data suggests that exposure to interprofessional practice in the IPT Clinic significantly enhanced all students’ attitudes toward teamwork (p = 0.0005). This data underscores the need for blending live practice with an interprofessional education curriculum.
Using the iTOSCE evaluation tool before and after exposure to ITPC, the interprofessional student teams scored significantly higher on the iTOSCE by faculty and student evaluators (p=.005, and p=.0005, respectively) after exposure to IPTC, suggesting an improvement in team-based communication.
This program has been awarded a Macy Foundation grant and has been designated as an incubator site for the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. This program will be coordinating its evaluation efforts with the National Center.
* Please note: Information contained in this database is self-reported by representatives from each program. It does not represent an exhaustive list of education and training programs and inclusion does not constitute an endorsement from the PCPCC.