The IPE Skills Training Series is a two-year experiential and reflective learning program focused on interprofessional collaboration and its impact on team-based health and social care. The program:

• Will be delivered in two parallel formats beginning Fall 2025: an online format and in a hybrid delivery format.
• Includes eight 3-hour sessions over four semesters (two sessions per semester).
• Covers four core interprofessional collaboration topics (detailed below).
• Incorporate reflection and interactive, case- and simulation-based learning to develop collaboration, communication, and conflict management skills.
• Integrates key themes including patient safety, cultural sensitivity, stigma, care for vulnerable populations, including Indigenous Peoples, and awareness of personal and professional values and biases.
• Organizes students into consistent small interprofessional teams (8–10 learners) throughout the two years to foster deep, collaborative peer relationships.
• Pairs each learner team with a faculty member, clinical practitioner, or advanced learner who facilitates sessions and shares real-world experiences with their team.
• Includes pre-licensure learners from the fields of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, psychology, and human kinetics and recreation.

 

 

Topic #1. Team Functioning (Fall, Year 1)

Topic #1 provides learners with a greater understanding of the dynamics of team functioning and the roles of professionals who collaborate for safe, culturally sensitive, and effective patient care.  Learners will also analyze their own role and contributions as a team member and will develop and present a case study presentation demonstrating their understanding of professional and team roles to their peers in Session 2.

Topic #2. Communication (Winter, Year 1)

Communication among health/social care professionals is an important function in the provision of safe health care.  In Topic 2 learners discuss principles underlying effective communication, including attitudes of respect, upholding others' dignity, power equity, inclusivity, and social justice principles.  As well, learners will identify factors that impact the communication process, i.e. personal values, biases, professional limitations, and verbal and non-verbal communication blockers.  Topic 2 culminates with a formative team simulation exercise with a standardized health professional.

Topic #3. Conflict Management (Fall, Year 2)

Topic #3 discusses interprofessional conflict as an inevitable part of working collaboratively.  Developing effective conflict management skills is critical for all health/social care professionals to facilitate safe, high quality patient care.  This training will explore the underlying sources of conflict (role boundary issues, scope of practice, leadership, impact of power differentials, accountability, and patient related issues), barriers to managing conflict, and strategies for preventing and resolving conflict.

Topic #4. Enhancing Collaborative Practice (Winter, Year 2)

Learners will more fully explore the challenges for implementation of effective teamwork in practice settings in the final series topic.  Highly effective collaboration requires the support and commitment of individual professionals, the health/social care team and health/social system managers.  Health and social care professionals are challenged to balance individual professional standards, team goals, and the desired outcomes for patients and families to optimize team functioning and provide safe, high-quality care.  Topic 4 also revisits the simulation format introduced in Topic 2 (Communication) with more complexity and allows teams to demonstrate their mastery of the collaborative skills they have developed together across the Series.