Student-led IPE: A Model for Student Engagement

Missing from our campus interprofessional education programming initiatives was a vital voice: the student. Quality interprofessional education, intended to meet accreditation standards, requires inclusion of the learner as team member. The purpose of this solution-orientated presentation is to describe a method of student engagement by which other institutions can provide better education in practice through organizing or augmenting their student-led initiatives. This model is of significance to the field of interprofessional education because it provides a framework for the development, maintenance, and coordination of an administrative, institutional committee designed to be inclusive of students from all campus programs.

Discussion will examine a model for developing a campus-wide organization in support of a student committee, and intentional recruitment and implementation of the committee. Administrative oversight, alignment with academic purposes, strategic team composition, and selection of initial deliverable goals will be outlined. Examples of outcomes will consider two significant projects. The more robust project is the proposal development of a student-led interprofessional clinic. The student committee has conducted a literature review, identified the gap in campus programming, and created an organized proposal for campus administration by which students from all degree programs on campus can be engaged in a meaningful clinical activity. This includes non-clinical degree programs including our basic science graduate students. The second project is an addition to first-year programming. This project has developed a proposal by which each college will host an ‘open house’ activity at their college during the week before the first campus-wide interprofessional didactic activity.