Maximizing Awareness and Engagement Through a Virtual Center for Interprofessional Education

We aimed to address the limited awareness and utilization of interprofessional education (IPE) tools and resources across five schools within the College of Medicine and Science at our institution. Multiple gap analyses have been performed showing a need for explicit IPE training and activities for learners and faculty at our institution. With 4000+ faculty teaching and assessing, and 3500+ learners from post-baccalaureate to post-doctoral programs, the diversity of learning environments, curriculum design, learner outcomes, and expectations is complex. This largesse poses immense challenges and generates significant competing demands on a finite number of organizational resources – including physical space and dedicated staff. 

METHODS: To address the immediate needs of our faculty and optimize IPE experiences we created and launched a Virtual Center for IPE. The IPE Virtual Center is a searchable website on our institution’s intranet that houses a collection of already existing tools and resources, and guides faculty to external websites and online materials. The Virtual Center is accessible to students, trainees, faculty, physicians, and staff, engagement data is routinely collected and reviewed in order to inform messaging and promotion of relevant and high yield resources that have been successfully used within our own institution’s unique learning environments and educational programs. In addition, this model provides data to manage resource allocation and optimize opportunities for faculty development which can serve as a driver for organizational change and innovative practice. 

CONCLUSIONS: While an IPE Virtual Center does not require an immense amount of institutional resources, it is crucial for increasing awareness of and generating momentum to drive adoption and creation of skills and resources. We wish to explore the feasibility and adaptation of the virtual center model at other institutions similarly challenged with finite resources and diverse learning environments and educational programs.