Creighton University is normalizing its interprofessional programs through its new Center for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research, also known as CIPER.
Joy Doll, Executive Director of CIPER, says the intent of the center is to provide students an opportunity to learn how to practice in health care teams.
Doll says that’s the way health care is headed. Doll says Creighton is trying to ensure that all their students graduate knowing how to practice in a healthcare team, not just as their own professional identity.
"Essentially what happened is in 2011, several health professions got together and created these core competencies and started to say that all health professions need to learn to work together. There’s lots of research that if we are health a care team we prevent medical errors, patients are happier and providers are happier. But, unfortunately, healthcare has been very hierarchical with the physicians leading the team.”
Doll says Creighton, in partnership with CHI, will use the university campus that’s being built at 24th and Cuming as its learning laboratory.
She says students will work in healthcare teams and will be paired with providers who are also in teams to practice this idea and enact it.
The first push of CIPER is an online, self-paced interprofessional course that all students in the health sciences are taking. Doll says faculty development courses will be the next phase.