Got Ethics? Exploring the Value of Interprofessional Collaboration Through a Comparison of Discipline-Specific Codes of Ethics

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Quality health care requires that health professionals are well informed about the contributions of their own and other health professionals. Ethics is a shared, relevant concern among health and human service disciplines and is an ideal vehicle for students from different fields to learn about one another's disciplines and to participate in interprofessional discussions and problem solving. This exercise is designed for undergraduate and graduate students in health and human services. The session may also be adapted for use as an in-service activity for practicing professionals. Methods The session uses experiential and didactic methods. It consists of activities for small- and large-group interaction and facilitated discussions, with corresponding worksheets to guide and document student participation. The session can be used at any time in a course sequence and may be especially useful as an introductory session. Results In fall 2011, 96 students participated in the exercise, and over 97% rated it as helpful or very helpful. In spring 2012, 96 students participated, and 98.5% rated the experience as helpful or very helpful. Faculty reported that the exercise was very valuable to their students and set a context for interprofessional collaborative practice. Discussion The authors believe it is important to create a core interprofessional team of committed leaders/faculty who agree to be present together at all sessions as this enhances the learning for students. The faculty members interact with the content in ways that model interprofessional collaborative practice. The core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice apply to faculty members as they teach an interprofessional case-based course collaboratively.

Keywords

• Interprofessional Education Collaboration (IPEC)
• Ethical Decision-Making