title: Improving public health through student-led interprofessional extracurricular education and collaboration: a conceptual framework.
abstract: In the US, health care professionals are trained predominantly in uniprofessional settings independent of interprofessional education and collaboration. Yet, these professionals are tasked to work collaboratively as part of an interprofessional team in the practice environment to provide comprehensive care to complex patient populations. Although many advantages of interprofessional education have been cited in the literature, interprofessional education and collaboration present unique barriers that have challenged educators and practitioners for years. In spite of these impediments, one student-led organization has successfully implemented interprofessional education and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for successful implementation of interprofessional education and collaboration for other student organizations, as well as for faculty and administrators. Each member of the interprofessional team brings discipline-specific expertise, allowing for a diverse team to attend to the multidimensional health needs of individual patients. The interprofessional team must organize around a common goal and work collaboratively to optimize patient outcomes. Successful interdisciplinary endeavors must address issues related to role clarity and skills regarding teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution. This conceptual framework can serve as a guide for student and health care organizations, in addition to academic institutions to produce health care professionals equipped with interdisciplinary teamwork skills to meet the changing health care demands of the 21st century.
authors.affiliation: School of Allied Health Professions, Department of Health Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vanderwielen
authors.affiliation: Center of Health Disparities, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Allison A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Vanderbilt
authors.affiliation: Division for Health Sciences Diversity, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Erika K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Dumke
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Promotion and Community Outreach, School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Kim T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Isringhausen
authors.affiliation: Center of Health Disparities, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Marcie S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Enurah
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Sallie D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Family Medicine and Population Health, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bradner
keywords: conceptual framework; health care teams; interprofessional education; student organization