Interprofessional Education (IPE) Faculty Development – a Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: Interprofessional Education (IPE) faculty development programs for academic and clinical faculty are essential in order to successfully prepare students for interprofessional collaborative practice. The purpose of this scoping review is to describe IPE faculty development in health professions’ education, identify any gaps in the literature, and recommend next steps for IPE faculty development programs. Methods: A scoping review methodology was employed. Inclusion criteria for article selection were established with each of the reviewers completing a full-text analysis. Database searches were completed to identify studies published on IPE faculty development. Results: After review of all titles, abstracts, and full articles, a total of 45 published articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. IPE faculty development programs are occurring in academic and/or clinical practice settings. However, there is a wide variability in IPE faculty development training activities related to the major themes of format, content, frequency, training length, and training delivery methods. The majority of included articles reported the use of assessment to evaluate their IPE training program. Discussion/Conclusion: Even though the included articles in this review describe IPE faculty development programs in health professions, the variability of IPE faculty development components creates an inability to generalize what type of training best contributes to both the faculty’s and the learner’s success. This heterogeneity seen in the included articles identify the need for more guidance in best practices for IPE faculty development programs. Additionally, the study findings support progress in the areas of training format, content, and assessment; however, additional research to provide guidelines for these details would be beneficial. Implications for Practice Preparation of health professions’ faculty and clinicians to teach and model interprofessional education and collaborative practice is an important aspect of developing successful Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) initiatives. By scoping the IPE literature, authors identify the heterogeneity of IPE faculty development programs, including a wide variability in the methods and assessment tools of these programs that may indicate the need for more standardized assessment tools. By describing IPE faculty development in health professions’ education, this review explores current practices and models for faculty training, and recommends next steps for IPE faculty development for health professions’ education programs.

Topics & Concepts