The building bridges initiative: learning with, from and about to create an interprofessional end-of-life program

In this paper, the authors outline the rationale, planning, delivery, results, evaluation and knowledge transfer strategies employed in offering an eight-hour education day offered 12 times in 2010, to a total of 200 staff in three Toronto General Hospital (TGH) intensive care units (ICU) at the University Health Network (UHN). The integration of members from the point-of-care staff teams into the planning, development, presentation and attendance was a critical success factor for this initiative. Organizers and participants had the opportunity to build bridges with each other and across teams and programs by engaging in interprofessional learning, sharing narratives and consolidating increasing awareness of resources with facilitation from staff from nursing, medicine, palliative care, bioethics, social work, physiotherapy, respiratory therapy, wellness and spiritual care. The format, which will be outlined with examples and stories of engagement, included an opportunity to explore common elements of ICU work including moral distress, demonstrated wellness and team communication strategies, as well as the introduction of an interprofessional patient/family meeting checklist reviewed and evaluated by participants. An assessment of quality of life in an ICU was explored using a panel, case study and discussion. The results of the evaluation, which included a qualitative reflection on collaborative themes, a program evaluation and an individual learning assessment, will be discussed, as well as sustainability and transferability possibilities specific to interprofessional programming and team development.