The Future of Interprofessional Education and Practice for Dentists and Dental Education

In the ever-changing landscape of education, health professions programs must be adaptable and forward-thinking. Programs need to understand the services students should be educated to provide over the next 25 years. The movement to increase collaboration among health professionals to improve health care outcomes is a significant priority for all health professions. Complex medical issues frequently seen in patients can best be addressed with interprofessional health care teams. Training future health care providers to work in such teams facilitates collaborative care and can result in improved outcomes for patients. What skills will dental students need in 2040 to practice as part of these interprofessional teams? Important skills needed for success are collaboration, communication, professionalism, and the ability to manage medically complex patients. These abilities are in alignment with the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competency domains and will continue to be key skills necessary in the future. Transitioning to a one university approach for preclinical and clinical training along with development of an all-inclusive electronic health record will drive this model forward. Faculty training and continuing education for clinicians, residents, and allied health providers will be necessary for comprehensive adoption of a team-based collaborative care system. With the health care delivery system moving towards more patient-centered, team-based care, interprofessional education helps future clinicians develop into confident team members who will lead health care into the future and produce better patient outcomes. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21^st Century."