Application of theory in education for collaborative team-based care

The purpose of this presentation is to share exemplars of a theoretical foundation supporting IPE in two Canadian physiotherapy education programs and inform collaborative competency integration into global physiotherapy education and practice curricula. 

Informed by the CIHCFramework for Advancing Collaboration 2024, the Office of Interprofessional Collaboration at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg Canada and the Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare and Education at the University of Toronto have been delivering formal IPE curriculum for close to two decades. The six competency domains of relationship-focused care/services, team communication, role clarification and negotiation, team functioning, team disagreement/differences processing and collaborative leadership have been used to guide IPE teaching and learning strategies. Blended learning approaches include synchronous and asynchronous small interprofessional group discussions (including 10 different health professional programs at the University of Manitoba, 11 at the University of Toronto); case studies; simulation; critical reflection; as well as application in the practice setting.

Both educational programs have relied heavily on the CIHC framework for curriculum development, collaboration with other health professional programs, and integration into practice placements. Program evaluation and student engagement results have informed curriculum iterations while holding the programs accountable to their leadership. An Open Education Resource for foundational knowledge in collaborative team-based care, IPE for anti-racism in healthcare, sim-IPE and IPE in clinical placement activities are exemplars that will be shared.

The theoretical foundation in IPE is made possible through the application of a framework for collaborative practice, in both university and practice settings where future healthcare collaborators are developed through learning with, from, and about other providers and team members.

IPE is an evidence-based approach that prepares physiotherapists for team-based care. Physiotherapists who are engaged in collaborative team-based care are well-positioned to contribute to the sextuple aim (Alami et al., 2023) of improved patient satisfaction, improved population health, improved health system efficiencies, improved provider wellness, health equity and planetary health.