Interprofessional Education

OHSU INTERPROFESSIONAL INITIATIVE

The Interprofessional Initiative (IPI) is helping drive an educational revolution at OHSU. Working collaboratively across OHSU's schools and programs, we're building a model for interprofessional education (IPE) that makes team-based, patient-centered care the new standard. As a critical aspect of the OHSU Vision 2020 strategic plan, IPE and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) are integrated throughout OHSU's healing, education, research and community service mission.

Our Goal

The goal of the OHSU Interprofessional Initiative, launched May 2012, is to prepare all OHSU students for deliberatively and intelligently working together with a common goal of building a safer and more effective patient-centered and community-oriented health care system within Oregon and across the United States, ultimately impacting the health and well-being of populations worldwide.

A Culture of Collaboration

To fulfill our goal, the IPI actively engages administrators, faculty, students, community partners and patients in creating a culture of collaboration. Effective collaboration among health professionals has the potential to profoundly improve the quality of patient care. In the same way, effective collaboration between biomedical researchers and health care providers—key to the translation of basic science research to improve patient care and community health—has a foundation in interprofessional education (IPE). At OHSU, we believe we all need to learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.

Building a New Interprofessional Environment

OHSU's Interprofessional Initiative is taking a giant step forward with construction of a landmark new interprofessional facility: The OHSU/Oregon University System (OUS) Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB) on OHSU's South Waterfront campus will be completed in fall 2014. This approximately 500,000-square-foot facility brings together students from OHSU, Portland State University, and Oregon State University under one roof, fostering collaboration in undergraduate and graduate education among students and instructors from multiple institutions and CLSB academic programs. The CLSB will be a primary educational venue for OHSU pharmacy, medical, nursing, and dental students. The CLSB includes lecture halls, a 20,000-square-foor, state-of-the-art interprofessional simulation facility. The IPI is enhancing existing and creating new opportunities for IPE-IPCP throughout the university and throughout Oregon, a national leader in health care reform and coordinated, patient-centered care. For additional information on interprofessional simulation at OHSU, please click here.