Best Practices for Interprofessional Education to Meet the Curriculum Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities (COEPA)

Abstract

A proliferation of articles describe the importance of interprofessional education (IPE) to promote a collaborative practice workforce. As pharmacy programs implement, develop, and assess impactful IPE activities and experiences in their didactic and experiential curricula, it is important to consider various IPE frameworks and accreditation expectations. The purpose of this article is to elucidate best practices for high-quality IPE with consideration given to the recently released 2022 Curriculum Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities (COEPA), 2023 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competencies, and 2025 Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards. Multiple factors were identified as important considerations for building and sustaining effective IPE programs, including: (1) institutional readiness, (2) institutional culture, (3) infrastructure, (4), financial considerations, (5) faculty development, (6) curricular programming, and (7) outcomes assessment. Evidence supports these factors as best practices for quality IPE and articulates how these elements can be used to mitigate challenges and/or barriers experienced in developing, implementing, and advancing IPE. Equipping learners with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work effectively as part of an interprofessional team is key to developing a collaborative practice-ready pharmacy workforce. The 2023 IPEC Competencies, which serve as a consensus framework to advance interprofessional education, informed the development of the interprofessional collaboration elements in the 2022 COEPA and 2025 ACPE Standards. Individual programs should leverage best practices related to institutional considerations, curricular development, and assessment to establish successful IPE programs.