title: Achieving social accountability through interprofessional collaboration: the Canadian medical schools experience.
abstract: Social accountability in the health professions is increasingly recognized as a necessary foundation for delivering effective healthcare. Inter- and intra-professional collaboration is critical to the process in order to transform intent into action. This article outlines the three-year program undertaken by a national collaboration among all 17 Canadian medical schools and their partners as they engaged in a journey leading to the incorporation of social accountability in an interprofessional context as the cornerstone of healthcare education and practice. An overview of the various dimensions of this project is discussed in order to shed light on how a national initiative in collaboration with local initiatives can synergistically work toward a common goal. Successes and challenges in working on a national level are reviewed with implications for future directions for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare based upon principles and values of social accountability.
authors.affiliation: Division of Continuing Professional Development and Knowledge Translation, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. kho@cpdkt.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Kendall
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buote
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarvis-Selinger
authors.forename: Helen Novak
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Lauscher
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferdinands
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parboosingh
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maskill
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Woollard
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016730:Program Development; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012941:Social Responsibility