Interprofessional Education

This chapter takes a broad view of education and include formal and informal interprofessional learning (IPL), serendipitous learning. It views Interprofessional education (IPE) and IPL as focused on improving professional practice, care, and services to support and enhance the lives of individuals, communities, and populations. The chapter argues that IPE and IPL contribute to this through promoting high quality interprofessional collaboration (IPC), founded on complementary professional contributions. Poorly planned or delivered IPE may be damaging if it generates a reluctance to engage in subsequent interprofessional collaboration or reinforces negative stereotypes. The chapter examines its effectiveness in different contexts and with different approaches, and summarises some key literature. It highlights that there is no ideal or essential location for IPE within a curriculum, but there are many opportunities for enhancing learning through IPE. The chapter also discusses the rationale for interprofessional education for collaborative practice, curriculum alignment and the importance of the assessment of interprofessional learning outcomes.