The Josiah Macy Jr Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the John A. Hartford Foundation committed in June 2012 to providing $8.6 million in grants over 5 years to support development of the new National Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. The goal of the center is to provide healthcare professionals with skills and strategies needed to function more effectively as a healthcare team and to eliminate the historical "silo" approach to healthcare education.
The center also will provide a place for collaboration among educators and health and policy stakeholders. The 4 foundations also see the center providing best practice information and sharing "lessons learned." Additionally, the center will assist in developing and evaluating educational programs.
Historically, education strategies for each individual healthcare discipline give little attention to applying skills in a team. In order for healthcare teams to function effectively, the members of the team need to understand the skills, abilities, and limitations of other team members. Communication strategies need to develop using a common language and set of skills, note representatives of the RWJF.1
Development of this center follows endeavors by more than a dozen Macy Foundation grantees pioneering interprofessional education among nurses, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, public health, and other professions. The center is striving to foster collaborative care and address quality, safety, and access to healthcare.
1. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. NewsRoom. June 4, 2012. Four Major Foundations Join Together to Advance Interprofessional Health Education to Improve Patient Care and Foster Team-Based Learning. Effort Expands Newly Proposed National Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Available at http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=74457. Accessed June 21, 2012.
Source: AONE. Foundations join to create National Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Enews Update. June 8, 2012. Available at https://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=862747362&. Accessed June 2, 2012.
Submitted by: Robin E. Pattillo, PhD, RN, CNL, News Editor at [email protected].