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Interprofessional Collaboration Competency (IPC-C) Framework

Why Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC)?

Research is a key element of evidence-based practice and quality patient care. From conducting research to using evidence at the point of care, interprofessional research can help improve practice as well as the patient and family experience. The IPBR program is available to assist nurses and health disciplines professionals at St. Michael’s Hospital to engage in the identification, implementation, and evaluation of best practices through research.

In collaboration with the Health Sciences Library we have developed this resource guide for interprofessional research including books, articles, and presentation guides. 

For more information on IPBR at St. Michael’s Hospital, please head to our website (www.stmichaelshospital.com) and follow us on Twitter (@StMikes_IPBR). 

What Does Collaboration Truly Mean?

Collaborative practice happens when multiple health team members from different professional backgrounds work together with patients, families, carers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care.  It allows health teams to engage any individual whose skills can help achieve local health goals. It promotes each member of the healthcare team working to their optimum skill sets and often results in lessening role hierarchies and improving the team’s efficiency.  (WHO, Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, 2010). As articulated by the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) in 2010, elements of collaboration include respect, trust, shared decision making and partnerships. For IPC to be effective, it requires the ability of all team members to be aware of each other’s skills and practice scopes and to complement these, to be able to proactively deal with differing viewpoints and to be able to reach team decisions through open and thoughtful communication. The product of interprofessional collaboration is the delivery of interprofessional care.

How Does the IPC-C Framework Help Collaboration?

Common Goal

A pillar of St. Michael’s Mission is to “build a work environment where each person is valued, respected and has an opportunity for personal and professional growth”, which is in and of itself foundational to effective IPC. By each member of the team knowing their own roles and trusting the roles and responsibilities of others, the environment of patient care is improved.

Common Language & Measurement

The IPC-C Framework allows the members of the healthcare team to have a standard and common set of language and skills to measure themselves against.  This provides transparent and equitable measurements by which the members of the healthcare team are evaluated, and to which they can hold each other accountable as well.

Regular Assessment & Review

Best practice of effectively using a tool like the IPC-C Framework is to use it consistently.  As with any kind of performance assessment, having regular opportunity to reflect and review performance ensures the nature of this reflection and conversation is focused around development and improvement.  Proactively using the IPC-C Framework and this Toolkit means to frequently reflect on one’s practice and to continually moving towards improving.  In this way, one can continue to evolve their practice and attain/maintain the collaborative competencies which in turn improve team function and patient care. 

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