Overview of project (for full grant - see Document Sharing/General Administrative Documents folder):

Stimulated by a growing research base as well as provincial and federal Interprofessional initiatives, all Ontario institutions that teach health professionals are promoting IPE. However, few institutions have access to standard, evidence-linked, IPE curricular content. This project will use technology to create a learning experience that simulates Interprofessional practice: a virtual Clinical Learning Unit
(CLU). This type of learning experience has been show to greatly facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills from the educational setting to clinical practice. The availability of flexible tools that will enhance the teaching and learning of Interprofessionalism is a critical element to operationalize the goal of IPE. Our team includes an Interprofessional team of clinicians and educators who will work
together to develop a series of authentic patient cases that illustrate core IP competencies. Cases will be constructed with rich narrative and detail to demonstrate discipline-specific content as well as IP competencies. Theory relevant to the desired learning outcomes will be delivered by means
of interactive modules; all content developed will include assessment as an integral component. A virtual meeting space will allow students to engage in discussion and work together to explore cases, develop common resources and complete related tasks.

In addition to a dearth of curricular materials and assessment tools, the coordination of teaching between students in different professional streams is frequently difficult. Students from different educational streams often have inflexible schedules that prevent face-to-face collaborative learning on a regular basis. Computer-mediated communication will be used to address this issue by providing a opportunities for content delivery, communication and collaboration across diverse contexts and curricular models. Logistical concerns have been identified as a significant barrier to the implementation and delivery of IPE. Building on the success of the Queen's School of Medicine's Learning Management System (LMS), our group will develop tools to facilitate IPE activities using authentic virtual environments that encourage Interprofessional collaboration and community-building by virtue of synchronous and asynchronous online tools. This LMS will be open to all stakeholders and learners and will serve as a platform for content delivery, collaboration and assessment. By linking students, teachers and clinical preceptors from all Schools of the Queen's Faculty of Medicine, we will create a virtual and flexible "Clinical Learning Unit" that will expand the possibilities for IPE.