How Can the Core Competencies be used to Advance Interprofessional Education?

Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice is the result of a collaboration among six organizations of schools of the health professions: Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), American Dental Education Association (ADEA), Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). These organizations joined together to form the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), convened an expert panel, and produced the report to define a common language for interprofessional education and collaborative practice. The Core Competencies are intended to guide preparation of health professions students for integrated, high quality care within the nation’s evolving health care system. The expert panel identified 38 specific sub-competencies that describe essential behaviors across four general competency domains: Values and Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. The session will provide an overview of the Core Competencies development process, including principles that guided the expert panel’s work and the sources used to inform the expert panel’s thinking. Since their release in May 2011, the Core Competencies have been used to stimulate strategic conversations on university campuses, guide surveys of interprofessional learning activities and opportunities, and focus the development of new learning resources. Specific examples of how the Core Competencies are being used for these purposes will be discussed. Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will: Inventory learning activities to determine the extent of interprofessional education and alignment with the Core Competencies. Discuss opportunities to use the Core Competencies to advance interprofessional education