Interprofessional Practice in Schools

Abstract

Purpose: Interprofessional practice (IPP) is a term that is used frequently in a variety of settings, including settings specific to the practice of speech-language pathology. Although IPP has its origins in health care with a focus on patient-centered care, it is equally applicable to school-based practice where the focus is on the student and student-centered service delivery. IPP is defined by specific characteristics and core competencies. This tutorial will explain these competencies and integrate them with school-based practice. Conclusion: The authors will share the results of an informal survey of school-based practitioners on their experiences with IPP as an illustration of actual workplace application. Analysis of the results reveals that, although school-based clinicians understand the importance of IPP and often successfully implement it, there are still roadblocks to effectively working in a way that reflects IPP. Interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) have been researched for over 50 years (World Health Organization [WHO], 2010). A widely accepted description outlines IPE as occurring "when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes" (WHO, 2010). IPE theorizes patient-centered care as the hallmark of IPP, where "workers from different professional backgrounds provide comprehensive services by working with patients and their families, caregivers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings" (WHO, 2010). IPP differs from other types of multidisciplinary service delivery approaches as these approaches work in parallel, where the team members produce outcomes independently. IPP occurs as members of the team collectively address the needs of the patient, considering all aspects of the outcome and collaborating on the desired effect of treatment across disciplines and roles. This focus shifts from who contributes what to the outcome to simultaneous consideration of the patient's outcomes by all members of the team designed to achieve a best-case scenario for the patient (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2016). It also differs from an interdisciplinary approach commonly employed in health care settings. Care is coordinated to achieve a common set of goals, usually communicated in a common document or plan of care. This highly coordinated approach still has practitioners focused exclusively on their profession's practice area and with limited consideration of outcomes selected by others on the team (ASHA, 2016). Although there is significant overlap, IPE and IPP blur the lines of practice consideration, encouraging clinicians to simultaneously consider patient outcomes collaboratively and collectively.