Looking Below the Surface of Interprofessional Education: Uncovering Organizational Factors and Forces

There has been a dramatic expansion in the development of models and methods for interprofessional education (IPE) in health and social care. This achievement calls for a corresponding development of methods to critically examine the unique organizational contexts of academic institutions that are critical for designing strategies to promote and sustain IPE. Organizational theories and their application to IPE have become increasingly important in providing new perspectives on how to promote it, and particularly approaches that uncover underlying factors and forces in the academic setting. This discussion first develops an integrated analytic framework based on both political and moral economy and force field analysis crucial for understanding the drivers and barriers for IPE. Secondly, it explores the IPE academic arena and how conflicting forces have shaped efforts to promote IPE in higher educational institutions. Thirdly, it reviews how universities in the US have been shaped by the growing corporatization of higher education and the specific implications for IPE. Finally, to put theory into practice, reflections and conclusions based on the framework for promoting and sustaining IPE within educational systems are offered.