title: Osteopathic approach to implementing and promoting interprofessional education.
abstract: Multidisciplinary fragmentation contributes to myriad medical errors and as many as 98,000 patient deaths per year. The Institute of Medicine has proposed steps to improve healthcare delivery, including providing more opportunities for interdisciplinary training. The authors describe the interprofessional education (IPE) program at Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) in Pomona, California. In 2007, 9 colleges at WesternU-including the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-undertook an IPE initiative that resulted in creation of a 3-phase program. Part of the IPE development process involved identifying core competencies that were nontechnical and nonclinical and common to all healthcare professions. The IPE development and implementation process and the identified competencies were analyzed for their relationship to the tenets of osteopathic medicine and the core competencies of osteopathic medical education. Although these tenets and core competencies were not intentionally used in the development process of the WesternU IPE program, the analysis revealed that the major components of the program are congruent with the framework of osteopathic principles and practice. The osteopathic medical profession's founding principles, broad-based perspective, and health-promoting tenets put the profession in a position to emerge as one of the leading forces in IPE.
authors.affiliation: Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Pomona, CA 91766-1854, USA. smackintosh@westernu.edu
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Mackintosh
authors.forename: Clinton E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Singer-Chang
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hruby
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D004522:Educational Status; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D010021:Osteopathic Medicine / Q000193:education*; D055360:Osteopathic Physicians / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013337:Students, Medical; D014481:United States