Transforming Interprofessional Education Through Integration with a University Core Curriculum

Over the past several decades, enhanced health outcomes have been connected to effective collaboration among stakeholders. Academic institutions have looked to Interprofessional Education (IPE) to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. However, these programs are not often integrated and aligned with general education/core curricula at their institutions.

IPE faculty engaged in a collaborative process of integrating IPE courses and outcomes with a new university-wide core curriculum for all undergraduate students. This initiative required revising and realigning IPE courses, updating pedagogy, and developing new teaching teams.

This process produced a Core Framework, outcomes, essential criteria, and enhanced work across the institution to align IPE competencies to university student learning outcomes. The process also strengthened IP learning as a contributing partner to the overall goals and outcomes of a St. Louis University graduate.

The paper describes the iterative process, initial outcomes and the transformation that has occurred during the development of shared goals, shared language, broadening the dialogue and understanding of IPE at the wider university level. Aligning IPE with the Core has strengthened the IPE courses to be more highly valued across the health professions and contributed to even stronger transformational learning experiences of the students and faculty.