Achieving social accountability through interprofessional collaboration: the Canadian medical schools experience.
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.
Ho
Kendall
K
Division of Continuing Professional Development and Knowledge Translation, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. kho@cpdkt.ubc.ca
Buote
Denise
D
Jarvis-Selinger
Sandra
S
Lauscher
Helen Novak
HN
Ferdinands
Luke
L
Parboosingh
Jean
J
Maskill
Sue
S
Woollard
Robert
R
D002170:Canada; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016730:Program Development; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012941:Social Responsibility