Looking Back to Move Ahead: Interprofessional Education in Dental Education.

Abstract

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a widely recognized and critical component of dental and health professions education and is included in two of the predoctoral education standards required by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). Following a review of the literature on the state of IPE education in U.S. dental education programs, this article revisits six institutions identified in previous research as exemplars successfully implementing IPE on their campuses. Interviews were conducted with leaders at the following programs: Columbia University, Medical University of South Carolina, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, and Western University of Health Sciences. Strengths and weakness of IPE in dental education are discussed, along with opportunities for the future including reducing barriers to scheduling, increasing intraprofessional education, and consistent outcomes assessment. The article concludes with lessons learned by administrators and suggestions for improving incorporation of these requirements into predoctoral dental education programs by emphasizing the importance of IPE and dentistry's role in overall health. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century."