Our Story
A history of collaboration at Ohio State
Interprofessional Practice and Education at Ohio State began in the 1970s when students from different academic programs found formal and informal ways of working together in both classrooms and communities. Over the years, students and faculty increasingly prioritized interprofessional collaboration as a valuable part of their education and evolved new opportunities. In 2020, the Office of Interprofessional Practice and Education was formed as a joint initiative of the Ohio State Office of Academic Affairs and the Wexner Medical Center and charged to unite, codify, and enable continued growth in this area.
The ultimate goal of interprofessional practice and education is to achieve the “Quintuple Aim” of health care, which includes health equity; clinician well-being; the pursuit of better health, improved outcomes, and lower costs. Our program aims to build an integrated learning community that identifies, addresses and fills gaps in care and services to improve health and health care.
2011
In 2009, national education associations of schools of six health professions formed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC). and developed four core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Values / Ethics, Roles / Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. These competencies were published in 2011 and revised in 2016. They now form the foundation of interprofessional learning experiences to prepare future health professionals for effective and impactful teamwork. Since their release, many health professions' education accrediting agencies and programs have embraced them.
2012
Bernadette Melnyk, Ph.D., APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, and dean of the College of Nursing, established the Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) initiative at Ohio State to codify and advance interprofessional education at the university.
2017
Curriculum leaders from Ohio State’s health sciences colleges conducted an extensive audit and series of strategic planning retreats to determine the future of interprofessional education at the university. This resulted in the January 2018 release of The BuckIPE Curriculum Vision Report, describing a comprehensive and innovative interprofessional learning model for their students and proposing a formal centralized coordinating office. Thus, the Office of Interprofessional Practice and Education was brought into being.
2020
In July 2020, Andrea Pfeifle, EdD, PT, FNAP, joined Ohio State as its inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Practice and Education. She immediately set about activating critical recommendations in the "BuckIPE Curriculum Vision Report" and working across the university, its Wexner Medical Center, and with community partners to build an integrated and transformative learning community to prepare students as future leaders of interprofessional teams that improve health and healthcare.
