Interprofessional education development: A road map for getting there

Improvement of relationships among health clinicians is important for reducing adverse clinical outcomes. To improve clinician relationships, the relationship development process is best initiated during health professional education, rather than “refitting” the interrelationship model learned during the health education process. While Interprofessional Education (IPE) has been identified as an effective model to fill the gap for both education and practice, IPE requires moving to an integrative curricular approach with a strong practice component. As a developmental process, IPE implementation faces challenges at every stage. The Interprofessional Education Development: The Roadmap for Getting There article describes the five stages of IPE, discusses important components of creating an IPE culture, suggests strategies for overcoming the challenges for each stage, and describes signs related to achievement of the five developmental stages of IPE.