Different perspectives in health care bring unique ideas and talents to the table to help improve patient care. Interprofessional education works to break down barriers between everyone involved in patient care, allowing for a unique collaboration that results in better learning and the best possible health outcomes. It allows RUSH’s talented students and staff to fully flourish.
Why interprofessional education?
Because it works. Evidence shows that interprofessional experience helps health workers gain the skills needed for practice-ready jobs.
In both clinical practice and education, interprofessional education encourages a focus on teamwork based not on a specialty or hierarchy but rather on effectiveness and outcomes aimed at bringing together everyone who works with patients.
What does interprofessional education teach us?
Our interprofessional education efforts follow core competencies set out by the International Education Collaborative to ensure students have the knowledge, skills and values they need to function as part of a team and to provide effective patient-centered collaborative health care. These core competencies are as follows:
- Values and ethics: Work in an ethical and respectful manner with all members of the health care team responsible for investigating, developing and delivering patient-centered health care
- Roles and responsibilities: Engage diverse professionals to complement one’s own professional experience
- Communication: Communicate with clarity, confidence and respect in encouraging ideas and opinions of other team members to ensure a common understanding of information, treatment and health care decisions
- Teamwork: Apply leadership practices that support collaborative practice, team effectiveness and patient-centered health care