Waterloo Pharmacy IPE | School of Pharmacy

Interprofessional Education at Waterloo Pharmacy

Interprofessional Education occurs when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care.

Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE), 2002

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What is Intra-Interprofessional Education at Waterloo Pharmacy?
What is the difference between Interprofessional and Intraprofessional Collaboration?
Program Stages
Passport System
CIHC Competencies
Student-Led IPE Events
Interested in Collaborating?

Meet your IPE Team

Debbie Ellen, BScPhm

IPE Program Manager

Debbie.Ellen@uwaterloo.ca

Erika Mutimura

IPE Operations Coordinator

Erika.Mutimura@uwaterloo.ca

For general inquiries, please email pharmacyipe@uwaterloo.ca.

What is Intra-Interprofessional Education at Waterloo Pharmacy?

Our goal is to provide pharmacy students with opportunities to learn with, from, and about other health care professionals and students. In doing this, we hope to prepare students for interprofessional collaboration resulting in improving patient outcomes. Pharmacy IPE leverages the University of Waterloo and the School of Pharmacy’s core strength in innovative experiential programming to deliver unique IPE experiences to students.

Students will have the opportunity to engage with and attend a variety of events/activities, some of which are curricular (linked with courses), while others will be extracurricular and based on the students preferences.

What is the difference between Interprofessional and Intraprofessional Collaboration?

Interprofessional Collaboration means healthcare professionals with different backgrounds, collaborating to deliver high-quality care within health and social care. An example of this would be a team of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and respiratory therapists working together.

Intraprofessional Collaboration means healthcare professionals with the same background collaborating to provide care. An example of this would be a team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working together to offer high-quality care.

Waterloo Pharmacy IPE Program Stages

IPE at the School of Pharmacy is broken down into 3 stages and embedded in both curricular and experiential learnings throughout the students 4 year degree.

IPE Program Stages

Stage 1: Exposure

IPE Foundational Content

In this initial stage, students learn foundational content about interprofessional collaboration. Activities are both didactic and interactive and allow students to begin to better understand their position and responsibilities as a pharmacist within a collaborative team.

Winter: 1A	Spring: 1B	Fall: 2A	Winter: Co-op Work Term 1	Spring: 2B
PHARM 120 - Intro to IPE	TBC on the Run- Online Modules (in LEARN)	TBC on the Run- Online Modules (in LEARN)	REF1: Immersion Reflection due 2 weeks after Co-op	PHARM 290- IPE Seminar
CIHC National Interprofessional Competency Framework (in LEARN)	Work on EXP1&2	Work on EXP1&2	Work on EXP1&2	HIPED (PHARM 290)
IPE Modules 1-4 (in LEARN)				EXP1&2 Reflections due end of term
IPE Day				HCP Interview Assignment Due

Stage 2: Immersion

Intra-Interprofessional Simulated Learning Experiences

During this stage, students experience higher levels of collaborative interaction with other health professionals and students. They build a stronger understanding of their own role and the roles of others. Students are expected to take ownership of their own interprofessional learning and to acquire sufficient points throughout Years 2 - 4 of the program.

Fall: Co-op Work Term 2	Winter: 3A	Spring: Co-op Wok Term 3	Fall: 3B
REF 2 due two weeks after Co-op	RnRx (PHARM 329)	REF 3 due two weeks after Co-op	IMM1-4 due by end of PHARM 392

Stage 3: Application

Intra-Interprofessional Clinical Practice Experiences

In this final entry-to-practice stage students have integrated into a team environment, have a strong sense of professional identity, and effectively and proficiently perform their professional tasks. Students achieve their application requirement by successfully completing their clinical rotations and the associated interprofessional competency assessment which is done by their pharmacist preceptors.

Winter: 4A	Spring 4B
Patient Care Rotations	Patient Care Rotations

Stage 1: Interprofessional Education Foundational Content

Seven people in lab coats talking in pharmacy

Stage 1 - Exposure

Interprofessional Education Foundational Content

Didactic teaching.
Core IPE concepts and competencies.
PHARM 120, PHARM 290, Professional Practice Courses.

Stage 2: Intra-Interprofessional Simulated Learning Experiences

Stage 2 - Immersion

Intra-Interprofessional Simulated Learning Experiences

In-person and online interactions with students and faculty from other programs.
Workshops, seminars, role clarification exercises, facilitated small-group case discussions, role-plays with standardized patients.
IPE Day, HIPED, RnRx, IPEC, Partners in Pharmacy.

Stage 3: Intra-Interprofessional Clinical Practice Experiences

Stage 3 - Application

Intra-Interprofessional Clinical Practice Experiences

Authentic IP learning opportunities in a variety of practice settings – Co-op work terms and 4th year clinical rotations.
Apply core concepts in clinical practice, gain confidence and refine collaborative competencies.
Collaborative competency assessment.

IPE Passport Model

To track the students IPE journey during their PharmD degree, we have implemented use of the passport model. This is a model where students acquire increasing degrees of expertise in the six interprofessional competencies identified by the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC). These collaborative competencies assist the student in becoming a valued member of an interprofessional team. Passports are “stamped” at specific points in the curriculum as certification that students have participated in interprofessional activities.

Students build their passport by participating in extracurricular IPE activities organized by the student themselves, by community partners, or by the Pharmacy IPE team.

To learn more about the Passport System, please see the Charity Republic Training Guide.

What are the Canadian Interprofessional Healthcare Competencies (CIHC)?

4 Circles Listing the CIHC competencies with the word "patient" in the overlapping center circle.

There are six competency domains that highlight the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that shape the judgments essential for interprofessional collaborative practice. Each of the competencies are equally valuable and continue to develop over an individual’s professional lifespan. These competencies can be implemented within any relevant practice/learning situation and integrated into every new experience. ~CIHC National Competency Framework

You can view the CIHC Framework for more information.

The Canadian Interprofessional Healthcare Competencies (CIHC)

Role Clarification

Learners/ practitioners understand their own role and the roles of those in other professions, and use this knowledge appropriately to establish and achieve patient/client/ family and community goals.

Patient/Client/Family/Community-Centered Care

Learners/ practitioners seek out, integrate and value, as a partner, the input and the engagement of the patient/client/ family/community in designing and implementing care/ services.

Team Functioning

Learners/ practitioners understand the principles of team work dynamics and group/team processes to enable effective interprofessional collaboration.

Collaborative Leadership

Learners/ practitioners understand and can apply leadership principles that support a collaborative practice model.

Interprofessional Communication

Learners/ practitioners from different professions communicate with each other in a collaborative, responsive and responsible manner.

Interprofessional Conflict Resolution

Learners/ practitioners actively engage themselves and others, including the client/patient/family, in positively and constructively addressing disagreements as they arise.

Student-Led IPE Events

Students sitting in a classroom watching student presenters

Are you wanting to plan your own IPE event?

Visit the "Waterloo IPE" Learn page for more information OR complete the form below.

Student-Led IPE Event Form

Interested in Collaborating?

If you are looking to collaborate on any intra-interprofessional events or have any questions specific to IPE, please do not hesitate to reach out at pharmacyipe@uwaterloo.ca.