Develop a New IPE Facilitator Certificate to Improve Learner Outcomes: Tools and Techniques for Curriculum Designers

Learner outcomes in interprofessional education are considered to be tied to the expertise and proficiency of the faculty or clinician educator. However, many educators in the traditional health sciences academy are not trained in the methods of evidence-based best practices for interprofessional education. As a method to enhance existing and encourage future interprofessional activities, a university Interprofessional Educators & Practitioners Association (IEPA) has proposed the creation of a foundational interprofessional/interdisciplinary facilitator/educator certificate program.

The seminar will explain the tools and techniques the IEPA undertook to develop the proposal, including a participant-oriented interprofessional design process. The program builds upon Miller’s pyramid, adopting a scaffolded progression from knowledge, competence, performance, action, to identity. As such, the OUHSC IEPA Scaffolded Learning Curriculum Design Template was created for curriculum design.

The template addresses the project goals, including:
1. Develop an interprofessional education and facilitation certificate curriculum outline for level I (Foundational) and level II (Mastery)
2. Create an interprofessional learning community to participate and benefit from the certificate training and to shape peer to peer learning opportunities
3. Expand awareness of and engagement with the interprofessional efforts for faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students
4. Increase capacity of faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students to guide learners in interprofessional education activities 

This seminar addresses the Summit theme, Interprofessional Learning for Collaborative Practice and Education, by providing an overview of a comprehensive interprofessional development program for students, staff, and faculty within a comprehensive health sciences center. The foundational IPEC competencies will be addressed and developed through students and practitioners learning about, with, and from each other through a structured program involving individual and team-based, asynchronous and in-person, and active and reflective practices.

Learning objectives:
1. Review the process for how a university interprofessional association undertook the development of the certificate program.
2. Recognize how a learner-centered approach can be utilized to develop a progressive certificate to appeal to various levels of learners.
3. Understand how a university interprofessional association can implement, monitor, and evaluate the certificate program.
4. Understand how to develop a certificate program by using the OUHSC IEPA Scaffolded Learning Curriculum Design Template.

Active learning exercises in the seminar will include a scaffolding exercise to assess participants’ current interprofessional program status and identify gaps toward certificate program development. All attendees will receive the OUHSC IEPA Scaffolded Learning Curriculum Design Template for collaboration.

This seminar addresses three of the conference priority criteria:
- The certificate program was intentionally designed to align with the larger university’s mission to advance a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community by embracing each person’s unique contributions, background, and perspectives. This will have a direct measurable impact of interprofessional teams on health equity.
- Certificate learners will be assessed via perception surveys, standardized knowledge assessments, and team specific evaluation tools, e.g., JTOG. This will provide measurable learning outcomes.
- By enhancing interprofessional knowledge and skill capacity in designing, facilitating, and evaluating interprofessional activities, students (interprofessional education) and faculty/staff (interprofessional practice) will be equipped to address the Quadruple Aim outcomes.