1. Person, Family and Community-Engaged Practice and Education

The engagement of individuals, families, and communities in the design of care delivery and learning is essential so their interests, beliefs and priorities are reflected in what is defined as mattering most in health, healthcare and the education of the future workforce.

Learning within this theme may include models designed to address challenges for patients and families in navigating the health care system and evaluation of those models; advances in enhancing community engagement and capacity; engagement with community members and people, patients, and family members to co-create curriculum; or leadership in patient, family, and community engagement.

2. Practice-Education Partnerships Advancing Care with People and Communities

The intentional design of practice-education, or Nexus, partnerships with people and communities has the ability to affect learning and health outcomes for providers, learners and individuals while promoting meaningful community context to improve the quality of care.

Peer reviewed content in this theme will cross the entire health and education continuum and may include strategies for relationship-building across education and practice, academic-community and academic-practice partnerships; clinical or practice models of interprofessional practice to improve outcomes (e.g. integrated behavioral health, integrated dental care, etc.); workplace learning and continuing professional development; content related to incentives and competition in clinical practice; community partnerships to impact population health; or partnerships addressing team-based workforce development and retention.

3. The Classroom and Beyond: Preparing Students for Collaborative Practice

Teamworking and new models of collaborative practice are essential in transforming practice environments. This theme is designed to showcase the many ways learning across the continuum, from entry level health-professions students, advanced learners, and practicing teams is occurring to realize the potential of effective interprofessional collaborative practice.

Learning in this theme may include innovative models to prepare students for teamwork and collaboration in practical settings; new ways to demonstrate readiness for practice; technology-inclusive and/or driven models (AI/machine learning, simulation, telehealth, EHR, etc.); interprofessional practice and education curriculum; informal and workplace learning models; interprofessional continuing professional development; faculty/preceptor development and deployment; student-led and engaged initiatives and collaborations; or workforce development and retention.

4. Interprofessional Collaboration to Address Health Equity, Racism and Bias in Interprofessional Practice

This theme aims to build capacity within our community to facilitate conversations that raise awareness and elevate strategies that promote equity in health and break down patterns and behaviors that facilitate racism and bias.

Some of the learning offered in this theme may include strategies to address racism and bias within and among members of the health team including patients and families; examples of addressing individual and systemic racism and other biases; effective models that improve health equity and social determinants of health among marginalized or underserved populations including rural populations; or leadership development designed to support individuals and systems in improving health equity and addressing racism and bias.

5. Building the IPE Case Through Information, Evidence, and Outcomes

Building the IPE Case through information, evidence and outcomes focuses on sharing innovative strategies and models of care and learning that have the ability to advance knowledge and improve outcomes that advance health for those we serve.  These innovation approaches have the ability to continue to build the case to support advancing goals toward sustainable and effective improvements in health and learning.

Examples that may be featured in this theme include theory development and testing; assessment and evaluation of interprofessional education; program implementation in practice informed by outcomes data; using big data, informatics and the electronic health record for interprofessional innovation; outcomes of application of the social sciences and humanities to IPE; new models for interprofessional research teams; or quality improvement initiatives and student involvement in them.

6. Developing and Sustaining Leadership in Interprofessional Practice and Education

Today’s interprofessional leaders are being called into service in bold new ways as they facilitate practice-education partnerships and support the students, faculty, practitioners and administrators that collaborate to improve health and learning outcomes.

Learning within this theme may include synthesis, development and testing of leadership theory to support effective interprofessional teamwork; new models and programs for developing and evaluating leadership competence in interprofessional practice and education; examples of leadership development designed to advance partnerships; strategies to sustain leaders and reduce turnover in interprofessional centers; or leadership of academic-clinical partnerships.