Interprofessional Education (IPE)
Interprofessional education (IPE) is a collaborative learning experience including students and educators from multiple health professions. Through IPE, students develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary to become effective members of the health care team. Our IPE plan incorporates four basic steps to ensure that our students are prepared to deliver excellent patient care in today’s multidisciplinary health care settings:
Exposure
From the very beginning of our curriculum, students are exposed to a variety of health care fields through guest lectures and interactive laboratory exercises. They learn from other health care providers about their respective fields and how these disciplines relate to pharmacy practice.
Immersion
As students advance through the program, they are immersed in collaborative healthcare environments, both live and simulated, where they develop key interprofessional skills. Simulations include standardized client cases and laboratory courses that involve multiple health care providers. During their introductory community and hospital pharmacy rotations, students practice their interprofessional skills in real world health care settings.
Experience
By the third year of our program, students are well prepared to participate in and contribute to a variety of interprofessional activities. They will have the opportunity to collaborate with other health professional programs at High Point University (Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Optometry) as well as outside institutions such as Cone Health (medical residents), Wake Forest University School of Medicine (medical students), University of North Carolina Greensboro (nurse practitioner students), and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (social work students).
Competence
Students spend their final year of the program learning, practicing, and exhibiting their inter-professional competencies during the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE). These practical experiences allow students to utilize and polish their interprofessional knowledge, skills, and behaviors before graduation.
