According to a 2015 Institute of Medicine report, interprofessional education (IPE) happens when health professions trainees learn, “with, from, and about each other to improve collaboration and the delivery of care.” Examine how IPE is benefiting physicians, students and patients and informing the ethics of collaboration for enhanced educational opportunities.
The September issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics® considers the roles of medicine in motivating the clinical and ethical benefits of interprofessionalism for physicians, other health professionals and patients. Articles featured in this issue include:
- “Teamwork in Health Care: Maximizing Collective Intelligence via Inclusive Collaboration and Open Communication.” Teams are smartest when everyone feels free to speak up, and they function best when leadership is inclusive and patient-focused. Review research from the field of organizational behavior that sheds light on what makes for a collectively intelligent team.
- “Interprofessional Training: Not Optional in Good Medical Education.” Interprofessional collaboration is a vital part of medical education, and teamwork will only become more important as physician shortages continue and medical care becomes more complex. When a medical student resists learning from a nurse-midwife on a rotation, how should a faculty member respond?
- “Decentering the Doctor: The Critical Value of a Patient Care Collective.” Rehabilitation environments are cross-disciplinary, enabling patients to show rather than tell physicians what they can do, which helps remove barriers to rehabilitation. Find out what one physician learned in a hospital playroom about rehabilitation, interprofessional collaboration and patient-centered service delivery.
- “Overcoming Historical Separation Between Oral and General Health Care: Interprofessional Collaboration for Promoting Health Equity.” Health equity can benefit from physician-dentist collaboration. Check out next steps for integrating oral and general health care.
In the journal’s September podcast, Lachlan Forrow, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses the benefits of interprofessional collaboration and the importance of biopsychosocial approaches to patient care.
Take the ethics poll
Give your answer to this month’s poll: True or false? Medical students being taught only by physicians is an indicator of the highest quality medical education.
Submit an article
The journal’s editorial focus is on commentaries and articles that offer practical advice and insights for medical students and physicians. Submit your work for publication.
