Quinnipiac University
A group of students speak with patients during a health fair

Centers and Institutes

The Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education

The Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education uses a collaborative approach that helps develop healthcare professionals who are capable of providing evidence-based, coordinated and patient-centered healthcare. The center enables faculty, students and community partners to learn together, identify effective and efficient delivery options and engage in team practice that meets the challenges of 21st-century healthcare.

What We Do

Learning that emphasizes real-world experience

The overarching purpose of the Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education is to give students in the School of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, and Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine the opportunity to develop skills in hands-on, team-based healthcare environments, preparing them for all of the obstacles inherent in modern healthcare.

Our nationally recognized center utilizes content experts and experienced interprofessional faculty to deliver high-quality educational experiences to students. The center has been nationally recognized, receiving the 2020 ASAHP Award for Institutional Excellence and Innovation in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Health Care Program of Merit, and has had many regional and national presentations and publications of it’s work.

The resources offered by the center are second to none. The case studies, seminars and simulations are designed by our interprofessional teams of faculty and students. We’ve created these resources to reflect the environments and situations encountered in the real healthcare world, ensuring that our students’ education remains completely relevant to the challenges that they will ultimately face. Whether working on simulated patients together or treating actual ones in one of our clinics, students gain a multidisciplinary perspective on best practices and ethics, enhance each other’s clinical skills and make a positive difference in people’s lives.

What is Interprofessional Education?

Interprofessional (IP) education is when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other1. The goal of interprofessional education is to help prepare future health professionals for enhanced team-based care of patients and improved population health outcomes2.

Educational opportunities from Center for Interprofessional Education the revolve around the quadruple aim of healthcare: improve the patient experience of care, improve the health of populations, reduce the per capita cost of healthcare and improve the work life of healthcare providers3. The CIHE embeds the core competencies of interprofessional education (values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork2) into various learning activities to better prepare students to become high quality healthcare providers.

Reciprocal Learning Opportunities

Solving healthcare challenges together

We offer our students many opportunities for interprofessional and reciprocal learning. These include:

  • Interprofessional healthcare community-based service activities
  • A variety of interactive case studies and seminar discussions that focus on interprofessional healthcare for children and adults across the practice settings that have complex needs
  • Online learning modules
  • Team learning with mannequins and standardized patients: These exercises include simulated cardiac arrests, end of life care, transition of care, home visits, simulated births, ambulatory and in-hospital care.

Please visit the CIHE resource website on MyQ for a full list of offerings.

Graduate with a Distinction in Interprofessional Healthcare Education

Earn a Micro-Credential and Digital Badge

The program of distinction is an optional program that enables groups of students from all of Quinnipiac’s health are-based programs to develop the core competencies of interprofessional, team-based healthcare. 

Program requirements include 60 hours of knowledge and skills development, experiential learning activities. Graduating with the distinction in interprofessional healthcare education gives students an advantage as it proves to employers that they have experienced the team dynamic that defines patient care today. A digital badge is a formal recognition certifying completion and competence of interprofessional education activities; badges can be displayed in a variety of online platforms including e-mail, social media and social networking sites.

Learn more about the micro-credential

Contact Us

References:

  1. WHO (World Health Organization). Framework for action on interprofessional education and collaborative practice. [March 4, 2013]. 
    who.int/hrh​/resources/framework_action/en/index​.html 
  2. Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. Washington, D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative.
  3. Bodenheimer T., Sinsky C. From triple to quadruple aim: care of the patient requires care of the provider. Ann Fam Med. 2014;12(6):573-576. doi:10.1370/afm.1713

Learn More

Centers and Institutes at Quinnipiac

We believe education doesn’t begin and end inside the classroom. We live in an increasingly diverse and complex world that demands the knowledge, collaboration and empathy required to deliver meaningful impact. 

Whether it’s turning ideas into viable business applications or digging through human history by analyzing ancient artifacts, each of our centers and institutes pairs our students and faculty to transform academic theory into real-world solutions.

Academics

Our broad liberal arts core complements deep expertise across more than 100 degree programs to provide an education that equips you for an extraordinary career. Whether you are in high school and ready to pursue your undergraduate degree, currently in the workforce and looking to advance your career through one of our graduate programs or have ambitions of becoming a lawyer or doctor, we have the schools, programs and faculty that will help unlock your potential.