New Publication: Forward Thinking and Adaptability to Sustain and Advance IPECP in Healthcare Transformation Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

Forward Thinking and Adaptability to Sustain and Advance IPECP in Healthcare Transformation Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hossein Khalili,  Jyotsna Pandey, Sylvia Langlois, Vikki Park, Ryan Brown, Alla El-Awaisi, Kathleen MacMillan, Shelley Cohen Konrad, Brittany Daulton, Christopher Green, Giray Kolcu, Charlotte McCartan, Gina Baugh, Andrea Pfeifle, Lisa Wetzlmair, Inci Kolcu, Anthony P. Breitbach

ABSTRACT

The proliferation of the novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus across the globe in 2020 produced a shared trauma internationally of unprecedented devastation, disruption, and death. At the same time, the pandemic has been a transformation catalyst accelerating the implementation and adoption of long overdue changes in healthcare education and practice, including telehealth and virtual learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed healthcare at a crossroads, either viewing it as a temporary situation that requires short-term solutions, or as a major disruption that presents opportunities for innovation for sustainable development and transformation. As COVID-19 transitions from pandemic to endemic, we have a unique opportunity to leverage lessons learned that can foster healthcare transformation through innovation, forward thinking, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP). With the changing landscape of higher education and healthcare, IPECP leaders need to reflect on and implement ‘Forward Thinking and Adaptability’ and ‘Sustainability and Growth’ in their IPECP approaches and strategies to achieve the Quintuple Aim. To capitalize on this opportunity and based on a recent publication by InterprofessionalResearch Global, this paper explores and debates (from a global perspective) the impact and application of healthcare education and practice transformation on IPECP with the goal to identify best practices in integrating and sustaining IPECP and building a resilient workforce. 

Access the article here: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol22/iss1/18/

CITATION

Khalili H, Pandey J, Langlois S, Park V, Brown R, El-Awaisi A, MacMillan K, Cohen Konrad S, Daulton B, Green C, Kolcu G, McCartan C, Baugh G, Pfeifle A, Wetzlmair L, kolcu I, Breitbach AP. Forward Thinking and Adaptability to Sustain and Advance IPECP in Healthcare Transformation Following the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2023 Dec 15;22(1), Article 18.

IPR.Global PEARLS: Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) in Post-COVID Healthcare Education and Practice Transformation Era

The COVID-19 Pandemic produced significant disruptions in all aspects of life across the world. Globally, no region avoided the impact that this crisis created. It particularly stressed healthcare delivery systems with regard to resources and personnel, requiring collaboration, creativity, and resilience of health professionals, institutions, and policy makers. Educational institutions felt a similar impact where, in March 2020, many universities and colleges were forced into a new pedagogical paradigm of remote learning with online and hybrid delivery methods.

These conditions reinforced the need for interprofessional collaboration in educational and healthcare and many of the lessons learned from innovations that were developed in response to the pandemic have produced a lasting impact on persons and institutions. Our purpose is to explore and discuss the impact and application of healthcare education and practice transformation on interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) during the post-COVID era (from a global perspective) with the goal to identify best practices to integrate and sustain IPECP.

This report provides information in two sections:

IPECP and Healthcare Education and Practice at a Cross Point: The future of healthcare relies on our successful and systematic evolution out of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed healthcare at a crossroads of either viewing it as a temporary situation that requires short-term solutions, or as a major disruption that presents opportunities for innovation for sustainable development and transformation.

From Momentum to a Movement: Ways to Integrate and Sustain IPECP in Healthcare Education and Practice: As the landscape of higher education and healthcare is continuing to evolve to meet the growing needs and expectations of students, patients, and communities, it is time for the IPECP leaders to reflect on the changing societal trends, demographics, diversity, and technologies in becoming more adaptable for the future. The healthcare digital transformation and technologies are here to stay and grow, and the sustainability and growth of virtual learning and practice in IPECP will be reliant on how we best utilize them to meet the IPECP agenda and goal of achieving Quintuple Aim.

The Report is accessible here: https://interprofessionalresearch.global/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IPECP-in-Post-COVID-Healthcare-Education-and-Practice-Transformation-Era-Joint-Discussion-Paper.pdf