Interprofessional education accreditation standards in the USA: a comparative analysis

Interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) will play a prominent role in the future of health professions' education and healthcare delivery in the USA and internationally. To assess the accreditation mandate for IPE in the USA, content analysis of IPE-related accreditation statements for all practice-level degrees in dentistry, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, psychology, public health and social work was performed. Eighteen keywords were used to locate potentially relevant IPE statements within each accreditation document. Identified statements were independently categorized by each author into one of three mutually exclusive categories: accountable, non-accountable or non-applicable (κ = 0.79; 95% CI 0.69-0.89). Eighteen of 21 accreditation documents analyzed contained applicable IPE statements. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education documents contained 77% (46/60) of accountable IPE statements. Two-thirds (14/21) of documents contained two or fewer accountable IPE statements. Statement categorization using inductive methodology identified four IPE student competency and organizational structure/process domains, respectively. Collectively, US health professions' graduates are not required to complete IPE and, therefore, may not be prepared for IPCP. US accrediting bodies are encouraged to collaborate to create a common IPE accreditation standard.