Interprofessional Education (IPE)

Interprofessional collaborative practice and team-based care is critical to the safe, effective, and efficient delivery of quality health care across the continuum of care. The University of Texas College of Pharmacy places priority in fostering an interprofessional collaborative culture among its students, faculty, and staff with other health professions on campus, in the community, and across health systems. Student pharmacists interact with a variety of health professions, including medicine, nursing, social work, dietetics, audiology, speech-language pathology, athletic training, clinical psychology, and dental hygiene.

Collaborations also extend to other professions, such as business, engineering, education, and public health to explore innovative solutions to improve the quality of care. The college is a leading collaborative partner with the UT Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education to advance interprofessional learning for all health professions students at the university and post-licensure learners regionally and nationally.

To prepare student pharmacists for interprofessional collaborative practice and team-based care, the college integrated interprofessional education (IPE) into the required Pharm.D. curriculum through a longitudinal course series titled Foundations for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (FICP). FICP prepares student pharmacists to participate as a contributing member of an interprofessional health care team during their pharmacy practice experiences. The thematic integration of IPE is depicted in the diagram below. Other courses and co-curricular activities in our Austin and San Antonio campuses further enhance student experiences in IPE.