A Description of the Integration of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Competencies in the First 100 Weeks of Medical Student Education

Abstract

Background and Introduction The practice of medicine, the delivery of health care, and medical school curricula have evolved significantly over the past 100 years. Current societal expectations are that our health care systems offer safe, evidence-based, patient-centered care, provided by cohesive, interprofessional teams within systems that limit error, ensure quality, and maximize benefits. The need to transform medical education to include interprofessional educational opportunities that ensure health professionals learn to work collaboratively is well recognized. The basic sciences and medical knowledge must be integrated with clinical practice. The four newly created goals for medical education include standardization of learning outcomes and individualization of the learning process, integration of formal knowledge and clinical experience, development of habits of inquiry and innovation, and focus on professional identity formation. In the development of our new Hofstra North Shore School of Medicine’s (HSOM) curricula, these goals were considered and are evident throughout the interprofessional educational experiences.