Interprofessional Collaboration and Interprofessional Education

Abstract

The recent re-affirmation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the U.S. Supreme
Court reassures many of us that we are moving in the direction of better access to health care in
the U.S. Whether there is adequate access to the highest quality and safest health care is a different
question. What else is needed to grow and solidify quality and safety in health care? The
U.S. Institute of Medicine,1,2 emphasized the need for more, and more effective, interprofessional
collaboration to achieve improved healthcare quality and safety standards. According to
the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) expert panel, representing nursing, medicine,
dentistry, pharmacy, and public health education, the IOM reports highlighted the fact that
“…how care is delivered is as important as what care is delivered.”3, p. 4 An effective interprofessional
collaborative approach involves a deliberate, plannedsystem for patient care based
on trust, collaboration, communication, role clarity, and shared commitment among clinicians
from various relevant health disciplines, related closely to the needs of the patient.3 Health care
curricula must also be planned carefully to ensure that students are equipped to practice within
an interprofessional collaborative framework in many types of settings. One assumes that the
readers of an interprofessional journal such as PNNOJ appreciate the value of collaborative
interprofessional teamwork, as well as the contributions of a variety of health care disciplines
to the development of interdisciplinary knowledge for improved practice, and acknowledge the
importance of collaboration to promote the best outcomes in the care of neonates, infants, and
children.